Join the MLN news team of Stephanie Frehner, Barb Ellestad and Teri Nehrenz as they take you on a hilarious adventure led by the Noted Researcher Alabama Jones (played by Ellestad) and his earth chick Jewel (Nehrenz), better known as the local IHOG (International House of Grits) waitress. Come on down to Mistakey, Alabama (AKA Eureka Grand Ballroom) at 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 28. (Doors open at 4 p.m.) and let Lamar (Frehner) serve you up some belly laughs that will be sure to make your ribs hurt on Friday. OPTIONAL: Come dressed in your redneck sunday best or your best ELVIS costume…it’ll just add to the fun!
The team is working with the Eureka’s Community Initiative to benefit Mesquite Reads. Tickets are $25 for dinner and the show. All proceeds from the ticket sales benefit the program. The kids are our future, let’s help them make the best of it.
About Mesquite Reads
Virgin Valley Elementary School Principal Cathy Davis is asking for the help of the Eureka Community Initiative and the entire greater Mesquite community to get all of her students to read at or above grade level by the end of 3rd grade. Your donations to this program can help 90 students learn to read better this summer.
At the Elementary School, at least 90 students in grades Kindergarten-3rd are reading below grade level. Her concern for the academic future of these children is prompted by alarming statistics.
- 1 in 6 children who are not reading proficiently in 3rd grade fail to graduate from high school
- Among proficient readers only 4% fail to graduate compared to non-proficient readers the number jumps to 16%
- Children who have lived in poverty and are not reading proficiently in 3rd grade are 3 times more likely to dropout or fail to graduate
- The Early Warning study found a link between failure to read proficiently by the end of 3rd grade with ongoing academic difficulty in school and failure to graduate from high school on time
- The gap between struggling and fluent readers does not diminish over time
- One of the factors contributing to third grade non proficiency in reading is summer learning loss
- Students who regularly attend high quality summer programs perform better in school than their peers who did not attend the same programs and the passive effects lasted for at least two years
