State's first lady reads to Gainesville second graders

GAINESVILLE - Georgia's First Lady Sandra Deal, a Hall County native and former teacher, visited Gainesville Elementary School as part of her "Read Across Georgia" initiative Thursday morning.

Read Across Georgia supports Gov. Nathan Deal's goal of increasing the percentage of children reading at grade level by the completion of third grade.

"If they're not reading by third grade which is sort of the polishing year, when you polish your skills, then when you start into the content areas they just don't understand the material, they can't read it well enough to understand it," she said.

The First Lady said that leads to bad habits, which include skipping school or even cheating. By the time unskilled readings students reach middle school, they begin to drop out. She said mentoring is also stressed in Read Across Georgia. Mrs. Deal has talked to retired teachers about coming back and helping with mentoring programs.

The governor proclaimed March "Read Across Georgia" month in honor of this initiative. The 1st Lady read two books to Gainesville Elementary second graders, 'Who I'd Like to Be' by Elizabeth Brown and 'No Excuses' by Wayne Dyer.

Gainesville Elementary Principal Priscilla Collins said teachers and students were ready for her visit.

"They set their goals on where they want to be as readers," Collins said. "The teachers have worked really hard and the students have worked even harder."

The First Lady was also scheduled to visit Ava White Academy and Lanier Elementary School in Hall County, as well as Lumpkin Elementary in Dahlonega and Kilough Elementary School in Dawsonville.

"I'm really glad to see her, I love reading," eight year old Derrick Caristarhpen said, after he heard Mrs. Deal read to his class.

The First Lady plans to spend spend the remainder of this month visiting schools across the state, reading to students and emphasizing the necessity of mentorship and the importance of being reading-proficient. Her goal is to visit every school district across the state over the next three years.