KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Eighteen classrooms across the Kansas City area are getting paired with a Kansas City Royals player as part of the club’s new literacy initiative known as the Royals Literacy League.
Michelle Abubakar’s fourth-grade students were surprised Thursday with a personalized message from their Classroom Champion, Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, during the launch of the program at Kansas City Public School’s Banneker Elementary.
“Your teacher, Ms. Abubakar, told me about you,” Pasquantino said in the video message. “She said you’re very smart, super talented and excited to read. As your Classroom Champion, I’ll be with you for the rest of the school year while we become better readers.”
The fourth-graders erupted in cheers as the first baseman acknowledged their teacher and students in the class by name.
“Yes, when they heard my name, they were excited, I believe because it made them feel like he knew us," Abubakar said. “And so, that gave them a sense of comfort, familiarity and just partnership and relationship. And our school is big on relationship, so that made them extremely excited.”
Abubakar said the class will follow along with Pasquantino’s career this season as he checks in with the students on their reading improvements for the rest of the school year.
Below average literacy rates is an ongoing nationwide problem that is affecting KCPS.
In 2017, one out of every three KCPS schools were performing in the bottom 5% of schools across Missouri, according to SchoolSmartKC, a partner in the Royals Literacy League.
“Well, the big deal is that we all know there is an issue with literacy in our region, not just in our region, in our country nationally, but we feel like it’s important for everybody to step up to the plate and be part of the solution,” said Andrea Ellis, project lead for the Royals Literacy League. “And in this regard, what the Royals, what they uniquely bring to the conversation is play and fun and inspiration, and so that is what they’re bringing to this work around literacy.”
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