Presidential Document2024-04877
Read Across America Day, 2024
Primary source
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Published
March 6, 2024
Signed
March 1, 2024
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 45 (Wednesday, March 6, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 6, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 15953-15954]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04877]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 45 / Wednesday, March 6, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 15953]]
Proclamation 10708 of March 1, 2024
Read Across America Day, 2024
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On Read Across America Day, we celebrate the power of
literacy to expand our minds and our understanding of
the world around us. We salute all the parents,
educators, authors, librarians, and mentors who
encourage our children to read, and we appreciate the
literature that dares them to think big.
For so many children, their dreams begin with a book.
Whether it is through the stories they listen to at bed
time or a trip to the local library, books introduce
children to new ideas, cultures, and perspectives. They
feed the imagination and stoke the fires of innovation
that help them understand our world as it is and
pioneer ways to make it better. I know firsthand how
reading can change lives: the First Lady, a lifelong
book lover, pursued a career as an educator because she
wanted to share the gift of reading with people who
``didn't know that joy.'' As a community college
professor, she continues to share that gift and remains
committed to supporting all the teachers who do the
same for their students.
The First Lady and I recognize there is still more work
to do to improve literacy across the country. For more
than a decade, studies show that reading competency of
American students has been on the decline--and the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic only made things worse.
That is why, since day one of my Administration, we
have been committed to supporting educators and
improving literacy--from our youngest readers to
adults.
To get our schools back open and running during the
pandemic, my American Rescue Plan secured $130 billion,
putting more teachers in our classrooms and more
counselors in our schools. This funding is providing
high-quality tutoring, expanding summer and after-
school programming, and increasing student engagement.
Over the past 3 years, school districts have added more
than 610,000 educators and staff. Our National
Partnership for Student Success is working to add
another 250,000 caring adults in tutoring, mentoring,
and other critical support roles. That equals hundreds
of thousands of additional professionals who are giving
students the support they deserve.
We also know that early education is a powerful
stepping stone for academic success. Research shows
that children who start school at 3 and 4 years old are
more likely to graduate from high school and further
their education. It is a big reason why I am working to
ensure that every child in America has access to high-
quality preschool.
We are also supporting adults in their efforts to
become better readers through my Administration's Adult
Education State Grants. These grants support adult
literacy programs and provide the skills and resources
needed to gain employment--from obtaining a secondary
school diploma to transitioning to a postsecondary
school.
This Read Across America Day, we must also acknowledge
a difficult truth--that our children are growing up in
a country where some extremist politicians are banning
books in grade schools and high schools. In America,
[[Page 15954]]
we do not ban books. Rather, we celebrate the full
diversity of stories and perspectives--and their
potential to expand our horizons.
Dr. Seuss once wrote, ``The more that you read, the
more things you will know. The more that you learn, the
more places you'll go.'' Today, may we celebrate the
power that is unleashed by reading--discovering the
comfort of words in times of sorrow, finding
inspiration to fuel our imagination, or having a clear-
eyed understanding of our past so we can forge a future
of limitless possibilities.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2, 2024,
as Read Across America Day. I call upon children,
families, educators, librarians, public officials, and
all the people of the United States to observe this day
with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
first day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2024-04877
Filed 3-5-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 6, 2024.
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