Reading Under the Lights brings Wooster community together

More than 1,200 students, families, educators and community members gathered at Maurer Field May 18 for the 10th annual Reading Under the Lights event hosted by Wooster City School District and United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties in partnership with the Wayne County Public Library and numerous community organizations.

The annual literacy celebration brought the community together around a shared love of reading while providing students with access to free books and literacy experiences. Every student who attended received a copy of “Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse” by Marcy Campbell and selected five additional books to take home.

Wooster High School graduate and author Pierre Paul also attended the event to read his book, “Carden: The Wheelchair Warrior.”

Both authors connected with students and families throughout the evening.

Across Maurer Field families gathered on reading mats to listen to stories read aloud by teachers, staff members, the Wooster Police Department and Wooster High School athletic teams. The event created opportunities for students to see reading modeled and celebrated by the entire community.

What began 10 years ago as a local literacy initiative has since become a nationally recognized model for community engagement and literacy promotion. United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties now presents Reading Under the Lights as a best practice at conferences, shares toolkits with other communities and has seen similar programs replicated by other United Way organizations across the country.

Still, organizers say the greatest success of the event remains the excitement students show for reading.

“Literacy opens doors to opportunity, imagination and lifelong learning, and events like this remind our students that reading is not only important, but something to celebrate together as a community,” said Molly Richard, director of curriculum and instruction for Wooster City Schools. “As families head into summer, we encourage them to remember that reading just five books over the summer can make a difference.”

The district expressed appreciation for the many families, volunteers, staff members, community organizations and student-athletes who helped make the evening possible. Special thanks also were extended to the district’s maintenance and grounds teams for their work in preparing and supporting the event and especially to the district’s literacy coaches, who support students year round and encourage them to grow as stronger readers.