Students Celebrate 25th Annual Read to Me March Around the Courthouse

Yesterday afternoon, over 1,900 students and 200 readers celebrated the 25^th Annual Read to Me March Around the Courthouse downtown. Fifteen elementary schools and eight middle schools and high schools participated in this event.

Elementary school students focused their reading on Hank the Cowdog chapter books, so middle school and high school readers put together a performance to portray the popular series.

Third and fourth grade students sat in excitement for the readings to begin, and, to kick off the event, the Central High School Drumline took a lap around the San Angelo Municipal Courthouse. The event was full of energy, and the kids could barely contain their excitement.

Sally Meyers, the Children’s Librarian for the Tom Green County Library System put together this event. Before the reading could commence, Sally gave recognition to all schools that were there to participate for the day.

When Meyers started this event 25 years ago, and on the first day of her job, someone told her that they should have a reading group at the Concho River. She said, “No way! We’re going to have it in the middle of the town and tell everybody. We have to make a statement. We want people to remember that it is important to read.”

Joining Sally after her recognition speech was the author of Hank the Cowdog, John R. Erikson. Erikson told the children that the Hank the Cowdog books were originally meant for adults who were farmin; he did not intend on them becoming children’s books. 

After speaking to the children, Erikson had his banjo tuned just right, and played two songs for the kids. They clapped along to the beat of the music, which built anticipation for the other activities to come.

 Belinda Sawyer, a teacher for the Glenn Middle School PALS program brought 26 of her students to the event.

She said, “My students go to different schools every day and peer tutor [other students]. Today is a great experience for them to read to students from all across San Angelo.”

Sawyer has been attending this event for eight years now. She added, “Every year, this event has gotten bigger and bigger; that is what I love to see. I admire Sally and her staff for doing this. It is a great experience for everyone.”

The readers have been preparing to read to the kids for over four months now. Sally said, “The readers are using their best characters and doing a readers theater for each group.”

Blue Hinton, a senior in the Central High School Theater and one of the readers, created a performance for the elementary students. She said, “Today, we get to come out here and read to kids. Hopefully, we get these kids as involved and excited about reading as we are.”

Jalen Ingle, a freshman at Central High School, also read to the kids. She said, “Today is really important because it helps kids get a chance to experience more than just being in a classroom. There is more charisma out here, rather than sitting at a desk.”

In all, this event is beneficial to all of the students involved. Sally noted, “The neat thing about this event is that we have the younger kids who come and we have the older kids who are reading to them. These older kids then become heroes to the younger kids.”

Here are the schools that participated:

Elementary schools:

• Texas Leadership Charter Academy
• Trinity Lutheran
• Santa Rita
• Wall
• Bowie
• Austin
• Lamar
• Bonham
• Reagan
• Crockett
• Ft. Concho
• Paint Rock
• San Angelo Catholic
• Angelo Christian Academy
• Belaire

Middle/high schools:

• Glenn Middle School
• Lee Middle School
• Lincoln Library Aids
• Angelo Christian Academy
• Central Freshman
• Central High School
• San Angelo Catholic School
• Lakeview