Brownback Hosts Read Kansas Read Winners

The top readers of the Read Kansas Read summer reading program and their families joined Governor Sam Brownback and First Lady Mary Brownback for a picnic and celebration catered by Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers at Cedar Crest on Saturday .

Read Kansas Read is a summer reading program launched last May by Governor Brownback, the Kansas State Board of Education and the State Library of Kansas. Students across Kansas spent the summer recording the books they read on their reading logs. On August 1^st, more than 400 readers turned in their reading logs that listed more than 10,000 books read during the two month period. Two K-12 students from eac h of the ten State Board of Education districts who read the most number of books were invited to join the Governor and First Lady for the picnic.

“What a great summer of reading we had in Kansas. The reading logs we received were all very impressive, and the First Lady and I want to congratulate all the students who took part—as well as the parents, teachers and librarians who encouraged them to take part in our first summer reading program,” Governor Brownback said. “Read Kansas Read was designed to be a fun way to help children bridge the gap between classroom learning in the spring and the fall. Even though not everyone could win, developing the habit to read over the summer will yield rewards for you for the rest of your life – and help you prepare for school this fall.”

The Read Kansas Read top K-12 readers are:

Abigail Schlodder, Holton	Taylor Beckley, Weir	Taylor Snodgrass, LaCygne
Emily Flaming, Hillsboro	Lydia Dawn Roelker, Osage City	Rylee Fann, Hugoton
Alice Griffith, Chanute	Paige Albert, Wichita	Brooke Nafziger, Canton
Brianna Ward, Osage City	Abbie Shurts, Wichita	Lacie Bratton, Wichita
Emily Kresin, Shawnee	Blake Disberger, Manhattan	Angela Davis, Wichita
Tatiana Javier, Kansas City	Madison Seyb, Johnson	Savindu Buluwana, Overland Park
Jamie Reavis, Osawatomie	Darick Charles, Kansas City

In addition to celebrating the kids’ summer reading success, the Governor and First Lady presented a $500 grant to Weir Public Library on behalf of the Kansas Book Festival. The Weir Public Library was selected from the dozens of libraries that participated in the Read Kansas Read program.