The Suncoast Campaign for Grade Level Reading will officially launch its 2019 Suncoast Summer Reading Challenge during the Suncoast Summer Reading Challenge "Blastoff" event this Saturday, May 4. The event will bring together educators and staff members from more than 90 summer camp providers to prepare for the challenge and engage in hands-on learning experiences.

LaTonya Pinkard, an associate professor of English at Independence Community College who appeared on the Netflix series Last Chance U, will give a keynote address to inspire participants and explain the importance of reading on grade-level. The public is invited to attend and can register here.

Research shows that students lose ground academically when they are out of school for the summer. To combat summer learning loss, the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is funding the Suncoast Summer Reading Challenge. The goal is to motivate students to read at least six books at their appropriate reading level during the summer months.