In the News

Read Across America, Southern Style

Bradley Elementary School students are ready to read. Photo ©2014 Brett Flashnick/NEA.

Under bright sunny skies, NEA’s Read Across America Cat-a-Van Tour 3 rolled south, beginning its tour in Columbia, South Carolina, to the delight of hundreds of elementary students. The tour began at Bradley Elementary School with students and teachers lining the school’s long driveway and the school band playing in the background. The Cat-a-Van arrived, accompanied by a Richland County Sheriff Department escort and VIP readers.

“This is such a wonderful treat for students and staff said Stephanie M. Johnson, second-grade teacher and Bradley’s Read Across America Committee Chair....Read more about Monday's events.

Check out the latest updates from Week 3 of the Cat-a-Van!

Michigan Celebrates Read Across America Day

“Can you say, ‘Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss’?” asked NEA President Dennis Van Roekel.

Yes, you can! And yes, they did! Maybe not in a boat, nor with a goat, but 45 million students, parents, and educators celebrated NEA’s Read Across America this year, “in schools like this one, and also in libraries, community centers, and even in Congress and the White House today,” Van Roekel told students at Roosevelt School in Livonia, Michigan, on Monday morning....Read More. 

Check out the latest Tour 2 Updates from Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio

NEA's Read Across America Tour Rolls Into Oklahoma

After covering almost 800 miles of ground, NEA’s Read Across America Cat-a-Van Tour 1 capped off a week’s worth of reading celebrations on Friday in Oklahoma with two school visits to Steed Elementary School in Midwest City and Horace Mann Elementary School in Shawnee....Read More.

• Get the latest updates on Week 1 of the Cat-a-Van tour.
• Check out our Storify feed for more highlights from the complete tour.

Follow the Read Across America Cat-a-Van Tour 

The 2014 Cat-a-Van tour started February, 24 and concludes Friday, March 14, making stops in 18 cities and bringing a celebration of reading to more than 30 schools along the way. The tour is made possible through a unique partnership between NEA and Renaissance Dental, who have teamed up to deliver a very important message to students: 2 x 2 + 20 = good oral health and literacy habits. Along the reading route, almost 11,000 books, toothbrushes, tooth timers, and other goodies will be distributed to students to keep them reading and brushing at home. Renaissance Dental also will be distributing more than $30,000 in grants to public schools visited by the Cat-a-Van Reading Tour.

Check out highlights from each week of the tour:

• Week 1: Texas and Oklahoma (Feb. 24-Feb. 28)
• Week 2: Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio (March 3-7)
• Week 3: South Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi (March 10-14)