Students Try to Set Reading Record

Students in the Gwinnett County Public Elementary Schools including those in Peachtree Corners and Berkeley Lake are again planning to participate in the global challenge to “Read for the Record.”

Students in Pre-K through first grade will be participating in the shared reading experience and attempt to set a new world reading record with this year’s chosen book “Llama Llama Red Pajama.” The single-day worldwide event will take place on Thursday, Oct. 6.

GCPS is inviting community members to join in the attempt to set a record by reading aloud to students in local classrooms. Each school participating was given a donated copy of the book for a volunteer community member to read. The school will count the number of students who either read or hear the story at the required time.

It is hoped that a tabulation of these will be enough to establish a new world record. Last year, with 29,671 students reading in the single-day event, GCPS set the record as the largest school district worldwide to participate.

Parents and community members interested in participating by reading aloud to Gwinnett County students can contact their local school. They also can celebrate Read for the Record from home by tuning into GCPS TV for a read along on a five-minute program. This will air at 8 a.m, 10:30 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7.30 p.m. on Oct. 6. GCPS TV cable channels and providers include Charter on Channel 22 and Comcast on Channel 24 and 26.