U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy Commander Col. Sheyla Baez Ramirez and Command Sgt. Maj. James Riddle, garrison command sergeant major, each supported an effort to read books to children at Wyeville Elementary School in early March as part of Dr. Suess Read Across America Week.
The school, in Wyeville, Wis., and part of the Tomah School District, welcomed the leaders to read in the classrooms between March 2 and 4. The school celebrated Read Across America Week from March 2 to 6.
Each year they focus their guest readers on a certain theme, school officials said. This year’s theme was “Community Members in Uniform.”
Administrative Assistant Michelle Dubois with the school coordinated with Fort McCoy personnel for the reader request.
Members of the Monroe County Sheriff Department and Fort McCoy Garrison Command Team participated as guest readers in their respective uniforms.
Read Across America was launched in 1998 by the National Education Association to inspire a love of reading among children and teens across the United States. The program was originally tied to Dr. Seuss’s birthday. The initiative encourages schools, libraries, families, and communities to celebrate reading through events, activities, and reading challenges.
Also, according to Holiday Today at https://holidaytoday.org/national-read-across-america-day, the program emphasizes the critical role of literacy in academic and personal success. Children who read for pleasure tend to perform better across subjects, including math and science, and develop stronger social-emotional skills.
Read Across America also addresses the achievement gap by providing access to books for children who may not have home libraries, fostering lifelong reading habits.
National Reading Month is also observed in March.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.” Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”