For those of you about to venture into the realm of becoming reading tutors and reading volunteers, I wholeheartedly thank you for your efforts.
Nothing has a more long lasting impact than work that helps to educate our children.
We know that specific types of language and visual experiences build the circuitry that lays the foundation that is essential for good learning. Therefore, educators, families, and communities alike must accept the challenge of providing all young children with opportunities for early, enriching language and reading experiences. Helping a child become a good and independent reader is a gift that will last a lifetime. That is one reason the President has made literacy a national priority. He understands, as do each of you who are now volunteering to work with children, that if children are to grow strong and compete in the 21st century, they must first be good readers.