Teachers.Net Feature... Teachers.Net Again Joins NEA in a Seussian Reading Celebration!
Retired educators will read to kids on March 3, 2003	The Cat in the Hat TM & (c) 1957 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. All Rights Reserved.

by Kathleen Alape Carpenter, Editor

Teachers.Net will again support NEA's Read Across America, the National Education Association's annual program that generates enthusiasm for reading nationwide and focuses the country's attention on how important it is to motivate children to read in addition to helping them master basic skills.

The year-long reading extravaganza that culminates on -- or near -- the birthday of the late great Dr. Seuss will be led throughout the 2002-2003 school year by Ming-Na (better known as Dr. Chen on NBC's ER) and Esai Morales (Lt. Tony Rodriguez on ABC's NYPD Blue). The two will be joined by the ubiquitous Cat in the Hat, the Read Across America star for the past six years.

Together the three will lead what has become the largest literacy celebration in the U.S. Read Across America 2002, headlined by Garth Brooks, attracted more than 45 million participants in all 50 states.

In 2003, NEA's Read Across America will be celebrated on March 3 since Theodor Geisel's (Dr. Seuss) birthday -- March 2 -- falls on a Sunday.

Get involved in NEA's Read Across America activities by:

• Contacting your local school, education association, library, or bookstore about how you can work together to support reading activities that are taking place in your community.
• Inviting guest readers to read to or with the readers in your life.
• Making resources available to parents that encourage family time spent reading.

This year Teachers.Net will focus upon rallying a corps of retired educators who will read to children on March 3, 2003 in schools, day care centers, and libraries in the U.S. and around the world.

More ideas and resources for celebrating reading on March 3 and ways to keep reading on the calendar 365 days a year are available from NEA at www.nea.org/readacross. Materials, including Cat in the Hat hats, costumes, ties, buttons, posters, stickers, and bookmarks can also be ordered through the Web site.

You can also request printed materials, which include a literacy calendar, reproducible handouts, and Spanish language materials, from: NEA's Read Across America, c/o National Education Association, 1201 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036.