On Tuesday, March 12, Griffin-Spalding County Schools (GSCS) hosted its third annual district-wide Real Men Read event. Over 100 men, representing over 40 businesses, organizations and churches, from the community read at all 11 GSCS elementary school students between 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Between seven and 15 men reported to each elementary school and volunteered to read to three or four classrooms. This district-wide literacy event furthers the district’s instructional vision for student success which states that students will Read, Write, Speak and Solve grade-level texts and tasks every day.
Board of Education Member R. Syntel Brown developed this event as a district one initiative and it has grown into a district-wide event. Brown stated, “Literacy is a fundamental building block of education. I am grateful that so many men in our community came out to model the importance of reading.”
GSCS hosts two annual literacy events that enlist stakeholders to model their love of reading. Real Men Read is held in the Spring and Pearls, Pumps and Books, where women from the community read to students, takes place in the Fall.
GSCS Executive Director of Communication and Partnerships Adam Pugh said, “Real Men Read strives to show all students the importance of reading but it also hopes to show boys that it is cool to grow up into men who are intelligent and well-educated. We are so thankful for our Partners in Education who took time away from their businesses, churches and organizations to invest in our students and support our staff.”
Those in the community interested in being a mentor for a student may contact Kathy Rhodes with the Spalding Collaborative at 404-316-2704 or at kathy@spaldingcollaborative.com.