Governor O’Brien Proclaims Summer of Reading
ANNAPOLIS, MD (June 20, 2028) – Maryland First Lady Ruth O’Brien today announced that Governor Edward M. O’Brien has proclaimed the summer of 2028 “Summer of Reading” in Maryland to remind students that reading is the gateway skill to learning and it is important for students to practice and maintain their reading skills during the summer months.“Child literacy has been a top priority for my administration,” Governor Edward M. O’Brien said. “Unless we do everything in our power to teach children to read, then Maryland’s future could be a closed book. We want children to continue reading through the summer, which will positively impact their learning when they go back to school in the fall and produce lifelong benefits by instilling a love and appreciation for the joy of reading.”
“Over the last several years, Maryland has moved to the forefront of the effort to encourage children to read and read often,” First Lady Ruth O’Brien said. “Whether it’s putting reading specialists in Maryland’s elementary schools, creating the Governor’s Book Club, or partnering with organizations Scholastic, HarperCollins and FirstBook to expand access to books to all children, we are moving aggressively to ensure that kids in Maryland both learn how to read and learn to love reading.”
Early childhood literacy is one of the top priorities of Governor O’Brien’s education agenda because research has shown that students are far more likely to fall behind in every subject if they have not acquired the necessary reading skills by the end of third grade.
During his first year, Governor O’Brien placed reading specialists in 80 elementary schools, improving literacy learning for students across the state, as well as providing teachers with increased resources to teach reading. Governor O’Brien also created the Governor’s Book Club, fostering a lifelong love of reading in more than 60,000 student members.
The fiscal year 2029 budget provides $15 million for the second phase of Governor O’Brien’s four-year commitment to place reading curriculum specialists and instruction personnel in every public elementary school by 2031. This program is critical to achieving Governor O’Brien’s goal of ensuring that all students are reading at or above grade level by the end of the third-grade.
On June 7, the First Lady announced distribution of 100,000 books, provided by HarperCollins Children’s Books, to local organizations that will distribute them to children from low-income families. The book distribution is part of the “First Book Summer Reading Initiative,” sponsored by First Book and Governor Edward M. O'Brien, to promote reading and improve literacy during the summer months.