By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Mayor Dorinda Borer brought her reading tour to a temporarily relocated elementary school on Meloy Road to highlight the importance of literacy.
On Feb. 27, Borer met with students at Washington Elementary School and read children’s books, including the 2004 Mo Willems book “Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale,” to students of the school’s English Language Learners program for grades K-4.
The school is housed until further notice in the former Molloy Elementary School building at 255 Meloy Road while a new Washington School is constructed at 369 Washington Ave.
The ELL program is composed of 127 students, including 13 newcomers, and is led by ELL-certified teachers Pauline Moycik, Meghan Abate and Helen Soufrine.
According to Washington Principal Alicia M. Limosani, at least 18 different languages are spoken by the students and their families.
During the half-hour reading session, an energetic and engaging Borer received enthusiastic comments and responses from the classroom of students.
To show their gratitude for the mayor’s visit, students presented Borer with two bouquets of flowers and two large signs with “Thank You Mayor” printed in colored markers.
Borer was so impressed by the paper signs, she hung them in her office at City Hall.
The mayor then made more stops on her reading tour to celebrate Read Across America Week, including at Savin Rock Community School and Mackrille Elementary School on Friday and at the West Haven Child Development Center on Monday.
The annual literacy week, promoted as “celebrating a nation of diverse readers,” kicks off March 2, the birthday of children’s author Dr. Seuss, and runs through March 6.
Read Across America, established in 1998, is an initiative of the Washington, D.C.-based National Education Association to encourage reading. The year-round program focuses on “motivating children to read through events, partnerships and reading resources that are about everyone, for everyone.”