The Woodland Police Department joined forces with Woodland Joint Unified School District to commemorate the national Read Across America Week, with this year’s celebration taking place from March 3 through March 7.

Read Across America started in 1998 as an initiative to honor the legacy of renowned American Children’s Book author Dr. Seuss around the time of his birthday, March 2. Every year starting on Dr. Seuss’s birthday, teachers, teenagers, librarians, politicians, actors, athletes, parents, grandparents, and others create Read Across America activities for the entire week to bring reading excitement to children of all ages.

WPD officers, clad in the classic and easy-to-recognize police uniform, went into elementary school classrooms across their jurisdiction, reading some of Dr. Seuss’s most famous titles to Woodland’s youth.

“From ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ to ‘The Cat in the Hat,’ officers brought Dr. Seuss’ whimsical worlds to life, sparking laughter and imagination in classrooms across town,” the department’s Facebook page states. “Reading is a superpower, and we’re proud to inspire young minds — one silly story at a time!”

Reading is crucial to increasing literacy across the nation, especially as literacy rates in the United States continue to be lower than other developed nations.

According to the National Literary Institute, “individuals with literacy skills have access to a broad spectrum of career possibilities, including highly skilled and well-paying positions. Conversely, those lacking literacy face severely restricted options, with even entry-level, low-skilled jobs posing challenges to secure.”

Only a handful of nations have a 100% literacy rate — Andorra, Finland, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Norway. The United Kingdom boasts a literacy rate of 99%, as do most European Union countries, China, Japan, and Russia. The National Literary Institute further confirms that most developed nations consistently boast adult literacy rates of 96% or higher, while the less developed countries struggle with an average literacy rate of just 65%.

The United States is an exception to the rule — just 79% of U.S. adults nationwide are literate in 2024, meaning more than one in five Americans cannot read or write. Low levels of literacy have cost the U.S. up to an estimated $2.2 trillion per year, with California being the state with the lowest adult literacy rate. The U.S. is ranked 36th globally in literacy, with only 34% of adults lacking literacy proficiency being born outside the country, meaning most illiterate Americans are natural-born citizens.

The National Literacy Institute also states 54% of adults have a literacy below a sixth-grade level and 20% are below fifth-grade level. The institute states that poverty plays a direct role in literacy rates because in impoverished regions, educational opportunities are often limited, exacerbated by the necessity for struggling families to prioritize immediate income generation over saving for education.

Read Across America aims to get young folks excited about reading across the U.S. with the hopes of awakening a love for reading, which would, in turn, help raise literacy rates across the country.

The WPD Facebook post regarding Read Across America included an original, Seuss-style poem commemorating the necessity of reading as a skillset. The poem states”

“In a Woodland town, not far but near,“The special day was finally here!“With books in their hands and stories to share,“The officers read at the school with great care!“They strolled through the halls with a skip and a cheer,“Bringing good stories for all kids to hear!“There were stories of Sneetches and families named Who,“Celebrating the great joy of reading—what a fun thing to do!“‘Hop on Pop?’ ‘Oh, The Places You’ll Go?’“‘A Snizzle-Finned Groffle who lives in the snow?’“They turned through the pages—Kerplop! Kerplee!“The kids all giggled, ‘Read more! Read to me!’“For books take you places—Zibbles and Zee!“To jungles, to castles, to deep undersea!“So Woodland’s finest—Ker-Zow! Ker-Zee!“Show reading is fun for you and for me!“So, turn every page, let your mind take flight,“Zoom with a Zingbat, or dance with a Blight!“A story’s a ticket to places unknown,“And once you start reading—you’ll never be alone!”