42 Gubernatorial Spouses, 3 Governors And 1 Lt. Governor Sign On As 2017 Reading Ambassadors For The Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge

NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ According to research from the Kids & Family Reading Report: 6th Edition, 80% of children ages 617 agree that summer reading will help them during the school year, but one in five kids from lower-income families did not read any books at all last summer. 1 To help provide access to books for kids in need, and to encourage summer reading, 42 Governors' Spouses, 3 Governors and 1 Lieutenant Governor representing the U.S. and U.S. territories have signed on to serve as Reading Ambassadors in their respective states. The Reading Ambassadors initiative is part of the 2017 Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, a free, online and mobile summer reading program designed to help kids avoid the "summer slide"the learning loss which can occur over the summer monthsand take a "summer leap" by discovering the power and joy of reading for fun.

For more about the Reading Ambassadors, visit: mediaroom.scholastic.com/readingambassadors.
For more about the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, visit: www.scholastic.com/summer.

As part of the initiative and to ensure students have access to books throughout the summer, Scholastic will donate 500 books to the elementary school(s) of each Reading Ambassador's choice. In addition, to show their commitment to summer reading many Reading Ambassadors will host reading celebrations and discuss the importance of summer reading through in-school events in their states.

Scholastic thanks the following Governors, Governors' Spouses and Lieutenant Governors for serving as Reading Ambassadors for the 2017 Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge:

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey

Alaska First Lady Donna Walker

American Samoa First Lady Cynthia Malala Moliga

Arizona First Lady Angela Ducey

Arkansas First Lady Susan Hutchinson

Connecticut First Lady Cathy Malloy

Delaware First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney

Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal

Guam First Lady Christine Sonido Calvo

Hawaii First Lady Dawn Amano-Ige

Idaho First Lady Lori Otter

Illinois First Lady Diana Rauner

Indiana First Lady Janet Holcomb

Iowa First Lady Christine Branstad

Kansas First Lady Mary Brownback

Maine First Lady Ann LePage

Maryland First Lady Yumi Hogan

Massachusetts First Lady Lauren Baker

Michigan First Lady Sue Snyder

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton

Mississippi First Lady Deborah Bryant

Missouri First Lady Sheena Greitens

Montana First Lady Lisa Bullock

Nevada First Lady Kathleen Sandoval

New Hampshire First Lady Valerie Sununu

New Jersey First Lady Mary Pat Christie

New Mexico First Gentleman Chuck Franco

New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul

North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper

North Dakota First Lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum

Northern Mariana Islands First Lady Diann Torres

Ohio First Lady Karen W. Kasich

Oklahoma First Gentleman Wade Christensen

Oregon First Gentleman Dan Little

Pennsylvania First Lady Frances Wolf

Rhode Island First Gentleman Andy Moffit

South Dakota First Lady Linda Daugaard

Tennessee First Lady Crissy Haslam

U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp

Utah First Lady Jeanette Herbert

Vermont First Lady Diana McTeague-Scott

Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe

Washington First Lady Trudi Inslee

West Virginia First Lady Cathy Justice

Wisconsin First Lady Tonette Walker

Wyoming First Lady Carol Mead

QUOTES:

First Lady of Virginia Dorothy McAuliffe, Chair of Governors' Spouses Program for the National Governors Association:"My fellow Reading Ambassadors and I are honored to serve the students of our respective states by encouraging them to read over the summer months, helping our children discover new worlds through reading, and empowering them to become lifelong readers. We have worked hard in Virginia to close the summer nutrition gap by expanding access to summer meals for kids. The Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge has helped us combine books and healthful meals to keep kids growing and learning all year long."

Richard Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO, Scholastic:"We thank our Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge Reading Ambassadors for helping students and their families learn about the importance of reading during the summer while also encouraging all children to discover the power and joy of reading. Our Reading Ambassadors' commitment delivers a powerful message to the children within their states that, in addition to their teachers and families, state leadership is also supporting their growth as readers."

For more information about the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, visithttp://mediaroom.scholastic.com.

References:

• (1) The Kids and Family Reading Report: 6th Edition conducted by YouGov and Scholastic, 2016.

SOURCE Scholastic Inc.

To post a comment, you must register and login.