Usha Vance, wife of Vice President J.D. Vance, visited Doral Friday to read to students about an inquisitive young girl with a knack for over-the-top science experiments to encourage them to read over summer break.
The second lady's summer reading challenge invites Kindergarten through 8th grade students to read a dozen books this summer.
At AcadeMir Charter School East in Doral, 500 students listened to Vance read “Ada Twist, Scientist” by Andrea Beaty. She later answered student questions.
" It's an opportunity for all of you guys to read over the summer, to pick whatever book you like, whether it's a book of history, or science, whether it's a book about aliens in space or about something here at home," Vance told students.
She said her own kids love to spend time outside in the summer, "but I wanted to make sure that they remembered that they should also pick up the same kinds of wonderful books that they read during the school year."
A recent national study by education researchers at Ivy League universities found students’ reading comprehension has deteriorated. Florida ranked last on the list, with students statewide scoring lower since 2022 and being even farther behind pre-pandemic performance.
“The pandemic was the mudslide that followed seven years of erosion in student achievement,” Tom Kane, co-author of the study and faculty director of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, said in a statement about the study.
READ MORE: Florida ranks last in reading, warns nationwide education report
This is the second year Vance embarked on a nationwide tour to promote her summer reading challenge. Last year, more than 20,000 students participated.
At AcadeMir Charter School East, fifth grader Aloha Rodriguez is confident she’ll crush the reading challenge. Her younger sister Collette thinks so too.
"You should see my house," Aloha said. "I go to Barnes and Noble every single day. You should ask my mom."
"She has millions of books," chimed her younger sister, Colette, 9, who also goes to AcadeMir.
Students can choose any 12 books to read between June 1 and Sept. 4 as part of the challenge. After reading the dozen books, students have a chance to win a visit to Washington, D.C.
"You'll see me at the White House," Aloha said.
Olivia Bernal, chief operating officer for the charter network, said the challenge is a great way to help prevent the so-called "summer slide," the decline in academic skills that happens over the long break. Studies show the slide can be long-term in that students can fall almost three grade levels behind their peers by the time they reach fifth grade.
"I think that as educators it is our duty to continue to promote the lifelong learning, especially through literacy," said Bernal. "Because if the student is reading by grade three, statistics show that they will be successful later on in life."
" I would love to improve my reading and I would love to learn more new vocabulary and new skills I could learn for the future," said third grader Colette.
