St. Stephen Elementary's multi-purpose room erupted into cheers as Cocky, the University of South Carolina's mascot, walked through the door and bounded up to the front of the room.
This was no normal class story time. This was a visit from Cocky's Reading Express.
Cocky's Reading Express is the University of South Carolina’s literacy outreach program. UofSC students and Cocky travel across South Carolina to read to students at public elementary schools. Because research shows children who acquire strong reading skills by the end of second grade are more likely to succeed academically, the program primarily serves those in 4K through second grade.
Renee Murray, the librarian at SSE, worked with Valerie Bryd Ford at UofSC to coordinate a visit from Cocky's Reading Express but ran into a roadblock: COVID-19. This most recent visit was originally scheduled for the spring of 2020.
Murray said that over the last two years she and Ford continued to email back-and-forth to schedule a visit. On Monday, Oct. 10, the fruits of their labor were rewarded.
SSE students stared in awe as Cocky and his friends read four books to them. Laughter filled the room as Cocky acted out the stories and interacted with students. At the end of the session, Cocky made the students promise to read every day and sent them home with a copy of "Happy In Our Skin."
As an alumna of the University of South Carolina, Murray was particularly proud of the visit.
"The students loved it!"
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up