Simon Youth Foundation students ignite hope in next generation of learners

Students at the Simon Youth Peabody Learning Academy at Northshore Mall in Peabody, Mass., shared the importance of literacy and learning when they recently participated in Read for the Record, a nationwide event on Oct. 6, 2011, that is considered to be the country's largest single-day shared reading experience.

SYF student Christina Bida
at the William A. Welch
Elementary School in Peabody, Mass.

One of Read for the Record's sponsors, the Pearson Foundation, donated 30 copies of Llama Llama Red Pajama, the book selected for this year's program, to students at the Simon Youth Peabody Learning Academy.

The Simon Youth Foundation students took their book copies into first-grade classrooms in their community and read for the children in those classes.

After reading to the first graders, the SYF students donated their copies of Llama Llama Red Pajama to classrooms' teachers so that they could to be permanently added to the classrooms' libraries.

"Our students understand the importance of education, and they are more hopeful for their futures because of the education that they have received at Simon Youth Peabody Learning Academy," says the academy's principal Seith Bedard. "I am proud that they wanted to share their passion for learning with a younger generation through Read for the Record."

Head over to the Pearson Foundation to learn more about Read for the Record and its key sponsors.