Hartford Earns “Best Community Celebration” Award for 2021 Read for the Record Event
Hartford Public Schools, Hartford Public Library, and United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut were selected by Jump Start as having the “Best Community Celebration” during the 2021 Read for the Record® event!
On October 28, 2021, Hartford Public School Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin joined community and city leaders in Jumpstart’s Read for the Record®, a campaign mobilizing volunteers to read to students in the classroom. They read Kat Zhang’s “Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon” to 1st grade students at E.B. Kennelly School.
Readers were welcomed by the HPS Literacy team, community partners, Kennelly School student ambassadors, and the EB Kennelly School Premiere Drumline, a student group led by music teacher Mike Pontecorvo.
Volunteers all over the city read the book to Kindergarten classrooms then left the book for the students as part of their classroom library- all part of #Jumpstart #ReadForTheRecord, organized by United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut and the Hartford Public Library.
After having fun reading to students in a first grade class, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin was heard stating, “I wish I could stay and spend the rest of my day doing this!”
The always excellent Kennelly School Premier Drumline, led by music teacher Mike Pontecorvo, greeted volunteer readers
The event, organized by Hartford Public Schools, the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, and the Hartford Public Library, celebrates the 16th anniversary of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record®. Read for the Record® is the world’s largest shared reading experience for children and will bring together more than 150 volunteers in the region. This year’s hybrid model allows volunteers to participate in-person or pre-record their read-aloud. This project aims to help children stay on track with their reading levels.
Learn more about our 2021 Read for the Record event here:
Community Volunteers Gather to Kick Off City-wide Literacy Event, Jumpstart’s Read for the Record
Learn more about Jump Start Read for the Record here.
👏📖🌆#Hartford 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝! @HPLCT, @Hartford_Public and @UnitedWayInc were selected as having the “Best Community Celebration” during @JumpStartKids 2021 Read for the Record® event! 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Go8tvnNriM
— Hartford Public Library (@HPLCT) January 12, 2022
I was so excited to join our partners @unitedwayinc @HPLCT @MayorBronin and volunteer readers @kennelly_school to read the book Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon by Kat Zhang. Early literacy is important for student success and reaching our goals for grade-level reading. 📖🎒 pic.twitter.com/xEj7bjschE
— Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez (@HartfordSuper) October 28, 2021