Nov. 16, 2011

Tomorrow morning, every classroom at Lindley Elementary will have a special guest who's there for one mission - to read. More than a dozen community volunteers will participate in Community Reader Day as part of the school's literacy week activities.

Organized by volunteer Michelle Schneider, this event highlights the value of community participation and reinforces the district's emphasis on literacy through the Two Million Books campaign, a challenge to Guilford County Schools (GCS) students by Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green to read two million books during 2011.

"What's notable about Thursday's program is that we've invited community members to participate, not just parents," says Principal Aaron Woody. "Lindley is lucky to have a strong group of volunteers who believe in supporting their neighborhood school, regardless of their personal connection."

Selected guests will be available for interviews at 9:30 a.m., including:

• Dr. Beth Folger, Chief Academic Officer and reader
• Lisa Gardner, coordinator of community partnerships
• Michelle Schneider, Lindley Elementary volunteer
• Dr. Aaron Woody, Lindley Elementary principal
• Bill Eckerd, volunteer and reader
• Alex Hurin, volunteer and reader

Events like this are just one of the ways GCS benefits from community volunteers. Volunteers can sign up to become Lunch Buddies, serve as a guest speaker, tutor students, chaperone a field trip or even spend just 10 minutes reading to students. GCS volunteers logged 367,456 hours of service last year.

Volunteer training opportunities are scheduled for Nov. 28, Dec. 5, Jan. 30, March 26 and April 30. For more information about volunteering, contact Lisa Gardner at 370-8355 or visit www.gcsvolunteers.com .

Literacy week was established at Lindley in honor of Carole Jeffreys, a curriculum facilitator who died in 2002. The event will continue Friday with a Reading Marathon. For more information, contact Principal Aaron Woody at 294-7360.