File photoCourtney Hill, Brenda Gulley, Shannon Tate, and LaTonya Adams, members of Meridian Community College’s Lady Eagles basketball team, chat with students at West Hills Elementary School in Meridian on International Literacy Day in September, 2017. The Meridian Public School District and The Meridian Star are again sponsoring a reading event in the city's elementary schools on Sept. 7.

The Meridian Star and the Meridian Public School District are teaming up again to promote reading and literacy.

In recognition of International Literacy Day, Sept. 8, The Star and Meridian schools are recruiting community volunteers to read to students in the district’s elementary schools from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 7.

Each elementary school will have a community member in each classroom to read to students.

This is the second year The Star and Meridian Public Schools have sponsored the reading event. Last September, more than 160 volunteers from 45 businesses visited classrooms to read out loud to the district’s elementary students.

“The Meridian Public School District is excited to be partnering with The Meridian Star once again for the annual Literacy Day event. Last year we partnered with community members who read to students in every classroom at all of our elementary schools,” said Amy Carter, MPSD superintendent. Community members shared their love of reading with students in our schools and reinforced the importance of reading nightly. Although we have several community partners who read to some of our schools on a weekly basis, this allowed new faces to serve as celebrity readers and share their favorite book with students.”

“Literacy is a key to open doors,” Alexander Gould, publisher of The Meridian Star said. “With the partnership of Meridian School district and community volunteers, we have the ability to show the area’s young people how important this skill is to their future.” 

Community members who want to sign up to volunteer to read can email Gould at agould@themeridianstar.com.