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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2, 1998

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- National Education Association (NEA) President Bob Chase today declared the first "Read Across America" celebration a huge success, estimating that as many as five million children and one million adults shared the joy of books at reading events across the nation.

Joining First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at a reading party in District Heights, Maryland, Chase noted that this has proven to be "the largest reading celebration the country has ever seen." The NEA president said, "I have never been prouder to be a teacher. Never before have we been so united and so creative in sending a crystal clear message to our children that reading is important."

From a rock and roll event with musicians laying down their guitars and picking up books in Seattle, to a group of schoolchildren in Utah raising money to purchase books for homeless children, to "Read Across America" chair Cal Ripken, Jr. sharing books with kids in the Baltimore Orioles' dugout at spring training in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to a reading party at The Cat in the Hat exhibit at the Children's Museum in New York City, communities in every state took part in this national reading campaign marking the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Suess (a.k.a Theodor Geisel).

Sponsored by the National Education Association, "Read Across America" attracted a number of partnering organizations, including the American Library Association, National PTA, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and the International Reading Association. Scholastic, Grolier Publishers, and Random House donated thousands of new books to needy children, and MBNA America Bank, N.A. provided generous support.

Notable participants also included Vice President Al Gore and Education Secretary Dick Riley, who read to children in Georgia; House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who shared his favorite children's book with first graders in Washington, D.C.; and Screen Actors Guild members Kirk Douglas, Barbara Bosson, James Sikking, and Richard Masur, who shared the message that literacy is important with 2000 children at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

President Clinton, during his Saturday radio address, urged all Americans to participate in "Read Across America." "Literacy is the key to all learning," he reminded listeners, "Without it, history is a haze, math is a muddle, the Internet is indecipherable. The promise of America is a closed book."

"Never before have I seen such enthusiasm for a reading initiative," said NEA President Chase. "It is our challenge now to ensure that this wonderful energy and new spark for reading remains strong and bright. It is not enough for a child to read today, but not tomorrow. We must all work together to see that our kids make reading an everyday part of their lives."

The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing more than 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support personnel, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.