Reading with Ringling with First Lady Deal and Peachtree Elementary

RinglingRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® and First Lady Sandra Deal are working in partnership to encourage reading at Gwinnett County’s Peachtree Elementary School, which began on Monday, February 8, and will run until Monday, February 22, 2016. A collaborative effort between Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®, First Lady Deal, Gwinnett County Public Schools and Peachtree Elementary School, the two-week Reading with Ringling competition will motivate third grade students to read independently from a circus-themed reading list that complements their existing curriculum.

Reading with Ringling has been executed with public library systems nationwide since 2006 and with much success. Similar to First Lady Deal’s Read Across Georgia initiative – dedicated to increasing the percentage of children reading at grade level across Georgia – Reading with Ringling aims to improve readership across the country and compel children to develop a love for reading. Given the synergy with these two efforts, Feld Entertainment identified the opportunity to partner with First Lady Deal to develop a tailored reading competition for Peachtree Elementary School.

At the conclusion of the two-week reading competition, Peachtree Elementary School’s entire third grade class will receive a special visit from some of Ringling’s famous clowns and performers for a circus-themed pep rally on Wednesday, February 24, 2016 from 10 to 11 a.m. Most notably, the pep rally will feature legendary Ringmaster David Shipman, as well as First Lady Deal who will attend to congratulate the students on their reading accomplishments. First Lady Deal will read a children’s book written by local University of Georgia football star Malcolm Mitchell, “The Magician’s Hat,” to students during her visit.

“I am thrilled to shine a spotlight on the importance of reading with the help of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®. Just as the circus entertains us with clowns, trapeze artists and animal acts, reading stimulates the imagination and allows us to see the world through the eyes of the writer,” said First Lady Deal.

As an incentive for the Reading with Ringling competition, the winning classes and top readers in third grade will receive tickets to the show at Infinite Energy Center on Friday, February 26, at 10:40 a.m. Feld Entertainment donated 100 tickets to the show in addition to 100 books to permanently leave a piece of the circus magic in the school library.

“We are very excited to be a part of this reading program,” said Peachtree Elementary Principal Kara Dutton. “Not only are we partnering to enrich the lives of our students academically, but we are providing them an experience of a lifetime. I can’t wait to see their faces as they experience the circus as a reward for reading!”

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® presents CIRCUS XTREME will be at Philips Arena, Feb. 10 – 15, 2016 and Infinite Energy Center Feb. 18 – 28, 2016. All seats are reserved, and tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com for Philips Arena andwww.InfiniteEnergyCenter.com for Infinite Energy Center.

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