Lake Elementary hosted its African-American Read-In on Tuesday, where community members went to the school in San Pablo to act as guest readers as part of a yearly Black History Month event, according to the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD).
The district shared photos from third annual African-American Heritage Month Read-In, which ran from 8:15 a.m. to 10 a.m. For more photos of participants, visit WCCUSD’s Facebook page here.
“The goal of the Read-In is to inspire young readers and highlight African American culture and stories through literature,” first-year Lake Elementary Principal Kenneth Bonner said in a statement. “We believe that it is important to invite community leaders to our campus for this to inspire our children and provide them models of excellence in communities of color.”
An additional aim is to inspire a boost in Lake Elementary’s reading scores, which recently increased on the annual SBAC result by 4 percentage points.
At this year’s event, Bonner mother, Carolyn, an insurance analyst, acted as a guest reader. Also reading was Bonner’s friend Kelian Hunter, a fellow district graduate and current principal at Coronado Elementary School. A member of the San Pablo police department attended as well.
Guest readers were asked to talk about themselves, their careers and to emphasize the importance of literacy and the impact it has had on their lives. The event also included an assembly featuring cultural presentations.
Lake Elementary is located at 2700 11th St. in San Pablo.
