State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond Honors Read Across America Week by Reading to Students in Orange County

ORANGE, CA—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond visited the Jordan Academy of Language and Computer Science in the Orange Unified School District on Friday morning. Thurmond joined students, parents, and teachers in celebrating Read Across America Week in remembrance of the late Dr. Seuss.

“A book can be a passport to any part of California or the world or a passport to the past or the future,” Thurmond said. “A book can help us understand where we are from, can teach us our history and the best way forward. Reading takes you on a journey, a lifelong journey of adventure. Books are valuable for many reasons—but I like to read mainly because it is fun.”

Jordan Academy of Language and Computer Science received a California School Boards Association Golden Bell Award as an innovative and sustainable program that makes a demonstrated difference with a focus on meeting the needs of all students.

Now in its fourth year offering the specialized Spanish Dual Immersion with Computer Science Integration program, Jordan Academy provides a unique educational experience that fosters a culture of empowering students to be biliterate problem-solvers and critical thinkers while providing a nurturing, culturally responsive learning environment that promotes equity and empathy.

Superintendent Thurmond's statewide campaign to help all California students reach the goal of literacy by third grade by the year 2026 also accomplished the following in the past year:

• Thurmond extended the Renaissance Digital Reading Partnership. Through this initiative, students—with the support of their families and educators—can access books and news articles in English and Spanish using a special shared account on Renaissance’s myON digital reading platform. Students across California read more than two million books and spent over 16 million minutes reading in the first two months of the program.
• Imagine Learning began offering resources to support California's Summer Reading Initiative. The Imagine Language and Literacy program is available for free to participating students in kindergarten through third grade. This program was utilized by a number of second, third, and fourth grade teachers as summer reading increased for students, with the highest utilization in the Inland Empire.
• Thurmond also announced a partnership with Footsteps2Brilliance, an early literacy and biliteracy solution that will provide free access to interactive digital eBooks, songs, and games in English and Spanish for California children and families.

Sponsored by the National Education Association, Read Across America honors the birthday of Dr. Seuss and encourages students across the country to experience the joy of reading.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100