Students in Berkeley schools dropped all their work this morning to stop… and listen to a community member read.
It was all part of the district’s 18th annual DEAR day, which stands for “Drop Everything And Read.”
LeConte Elementary School was eerily quiet between 9:30 and 10 am as students gathered on area rugs and listened to stories. City Councilman Kriss Worthington read to a third-grade class. Wendy Cohen, Berkeleyside’s Advertising Director, read to a fifth grade class.
“The idea is you are in the middle of a lesson and you stop suddenly, to read,” said Luis Argueta, a fifth-grade teacher.
“It’s such a great community builder and it’s so much fun,” said Estella Sisneros, the librarian at LeConte. “It’s energizing for the children to have people come out a read to them. They get to hear different voices.”
More than 140 community volunteers read to students in Berkeley’s preschools and elementary schools.
