Mar Vista Elementary School is having its first-ever Read-a-Thon this year! This is a new fundraising initiative being organized by the Mar Vista Parent’s Club (the Mar Vista version of a PTA). Funds raised from the Read-a-Thon will go in large part to the Mar Vista Elementary library, which suffers from limited and outdated reading materials for Mar Vista students. The Read-a-Thon will run from November 3rd through the 14th.

As California seeks to reverse years of declines in academic performance, it has adopted the Common Core curriculum. With Common Core, academic basics such as reading and math are heavily emphasized. Mar Vista Elementary is a California Distinguished School, and aims to stay that way. It is hoped that by further encouraging students to read, academic performance will be further enhanced.

The Mar Vista Parents club is seeking local businesses who are willing to sponsor classrooms for $250 each – approximately $1 per student per day of the Read-a-Thon. Sponsoring businesses will receive:

• Thanks on the Mar Vista Parent’s Club Facebook page
• Logo placement on one flyer thanking everyone involved with the Read-A-Thon
• Logo placement and thanks in an all-school email blast
• Invitation to meet and greet with sponsored class
• Placement on a banner outside the school thanking them for participation

In addition, the Mar Vista Parent’s Club is seeking “community readers” – members of the community who can come in to the school and read with the children, and perhaps spend some time talking with them about the reading material. The children would be thrilled to read with fire fighters, paramedics, life guards, law enforcement, doctors, lawyers – anyone with a good story to share and discuss!

If you have a local business and are interested in sponsoring the Read-a-Thon, or if you have a suggestion for someone who would be a good guest “community reader,” please contact Sebastian Frey via phone at (831) 704-6873.