Usha Vance Expands Summer Reading Challenge With New Rewards Website

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC- Second Lady Usha Vance has launched a rewards website for her Summer Reading Challenge, allowing children to claim prizes after completing the program’s reading requirements.

The initiative, now in its second year, is open to students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Participants must read 12 books over the summer, keep a reading log and submit short reflections. Entries are due by September 4.

With the launch of the prize portal, Vance said the program is designed to help children stay engaged with reading during the school break by pairing reading goals with incentives.

The initiative comes as educators continue to raise concerns about declining reading habits among children. Vance cited federal data showing that literacy levels often fall over the summer, adding to broader concerns about reading proficiency.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the share of children who read for fun almost every day has dropped by 16 percentage points among 9-year-olds and 21 percentage points among 13-year-olds since 1984. Researchers have increasingly linked the trend to rising screen time. During Senate testimony earlier this year, neuroscientist and former teacher Jared Cooney Horvath argued that today’s Generation Z is underperforming previous generations on several cognitive measures.

Children who complete the challenge can choose from rewards including Walmart and Dairy Queen gift cards, Crayola markers, tickets to the National Children’s Museum, and patches and stickers from NASA and Freedom 250.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/read/