First Lady Ann Scott and Miami Dolphins Join Florida Department of State to Support Summer Reading

Dolphins partner with Florida Department of State to purchase summer reading incentives

Tallahassee, Florida –

Florida First Lady Ann Scott today joined the Florida Department of State, the Miami Dolphins and the Miami-Dade Public Library to promote the importance of continued student reading during the summer. During an event at the North Dade Regional Library, the First Lady and Miami Dolphins players read books to Miami-area students and distributed reading materials.

"Reading is the foundation of all learning and I encourage Florida’s students and families to spend time together this summer and focus on literacy," said First Lady Scott. "We know that children who continue to engage in reading over the summer will retain more of what they learned during the school year. Families can enjoy reading in Florida’s libraries, beautiful state parks and museums while learning together."

The First Lady’s Summer Literacy Adventure and the Department of State’s Statewide Summer Reading Program focus on encouraging children, tweens and teens to read through the summer months. Public libraries like the Miami-Dade Public Library encourage summer reading by hosting programs and offering incentives around the central theme of "Dream Big—Read" for children and "Own the Night" for tweens and teens. In 2011, approximately 985,000 individuals participated in the Statewide Summer Reading Program in Florida public libraries.

The Miami Dolphins have a rich history of supporting reading and learning in South Florida. For the fifth year, the Miami Dolphins Foundation has partnered with the Department of State to purchase summer reading incentives for libraries, providing sports memorabilia and game tickets as well as library visits by players and cheerleaders.

In 2010, a Dominican University study showed that students who participate in a public library summer reading program score higher on reading achievement tests at the beginning of the next school year than students who do not participate. Partnerships with the First Lady, the Department of State, the Miami-Dade Library System and the Miami Dolphins open the door to summer reading for students of all ages.

For more information about summer reading programs, contact a nearby public library.

About the Florida Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services

The Florida Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services is the designated information resource provider for the Florida Legislature and all state agencies. It also coordinates and helps fund activities for public libraries, provides a framework for statewide library initiatives, provides archival and records management services, and preserves, collects, and makes available the published and unpublished documentary history of the state.