On Friday, March 3, schools all over the country celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday with Read Across America Day. Alaska Job Corps students also commemorated the day, and the importance of literacy, by reading to elementary-aged school children at three area schools.

Seven students from Alaska Job Corps went to Swanson Elementary, Academy Charter School and Chugiak Elementary to celebrate this important day. The Job Corps students (Austin Sayre, Leighton Wassilie, Annmarie Paul, Wade Lunsford, Dylan Phillips, Sydney Egbert and Patrick Batista-Garcia) were smiling, dynamic readers. They enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss books, as well as other books, to the children at each school.

Some read to entire classrooms, others read to small groups and some simply helped individual children read their own Dr. Seuss books. Either way, the Alaska Job Corps students—and the school children—not only learned about the books that were read, but they also learned about each other.

At Chugiak Elementary, the school children had recently learned about Alaska Native culture and were fascinated by the cultural history and Yupik language abilities of some of the visiting Job Corps students. They asked many questions and were excited to listen to the students speak in their Native language. The Job Corps students were also enthusiastic about sharing both their cultural and language backgrounds as well as the vast importance of reading in their everyday life.

“It is always important to share the love of reading with young children as they gain their own literacy skills,” said Malyn Smith, Alaska Job Corps Center Director. “Our students were happy to serve as role models as they helped these local school children develop, and celebrate, their own love of books.”

Some of the visiting students wore their trade uniforms, such as their nursing scrubs or their working coveralls. The students who read are in a variety of different trades at Alaska Job Corps, including Water/Wastewater Treatment, Certified Nurse Assistant, Office Administration, Building Construction Technology and Accounting Services.

“My favorite book is probably Fox in Socks, because it’s such a tongue twister,” said Dylan Phillips, a Certified Nurse Assistant student at Alaska Job Corps. “I really liked going to the school I once attended as a child and I loved seeing the children smiling and enjoying reading.”

Phillips said that it is more important now than ever to emphasize and teach reading to youth, because of today’s many technological distractions.

“Reading is a great tool for expanding your horizons and helping you gain different experiences,” added Phillips.

Austin Sayre, an Office Administration student, also found the experience to be positive and rewarding.

“The teachers and students were all very enthusiastic and everyone was having a lot of fun,” said Sayre. “It is something I will never forget.”

Gaining reading skills are essential to the preparation of Alaska Job Corps students for the workforce. The Center provides both vocational and academic training and students are all required to pass the literacy and numeracy portions of the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE). The Center also offers high school diplomas and GEDs to those students who do not already possess a diploma or GED.

“Reading is vital to self-improvement and continuous learning throughout all of our lives,” said Smith. “Here at Alaska Job Corps, we put great emphasis on the value of reading through our daily academic training as well as through service activities like these.”

The Alaska Job Corps Center is a federally funded career training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor and managed by Chugach Educational Services, Inc. The Center is committed to providing the highest quality programs for young adults by offering instructions in academics, trades and life skills through innovative methods that respond to the unique individual and group needs of today’s youth.

  Story and photos by BCL Carin Meyer.