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On Tuesday, January 31, the Warriors, Ross Stores and Reading Partners continued the Read To Achieve program to improve reading proficiency and fight summer learning loss among Bay Area elementary students. Joining Tuesday’s Reading Rally at San Francisco’s Bret Harte Elementary School was Warriors All-Star Forward Kevin Durant and 2015 NBA Champion Assistant Coach Ron Adams, who spent their afternoon sharing the importance of everyday reading with the students.

“I remember being in their shoes at that age so it’s exciting to give back by sharing the fun of reading a good book,” said Durant.

The 200 ecstatic young boys and girls packed the school auditorium and high-fived the affable 6’9 scorer as he walked onto the school stage with Coach Adams for a Q&amp;A session with Warriors Hype Woman Ruby Lopez. Coach Adams shared with the students his love for learning and how reading can benefit them in whatever career or activity they want to enjoy.

“So many images, thought patterns and even a belief in ourselves can be formed and imagined through the written word,” said Adams. “[Reading] is like basketball in that you can’t succeed without mastering the fundamentals, so reading every day will take you all a long way.”

Durant and Coach Adams then grabbed copies of the children’s literature classic Frog and Toad Are Friends to read aloud to the students. Flanked by life-sized versions of Frog and Toad and TV monitors illustrating the story, the two Warriors read pages from the book and invited students from the Reading Partners program to join them on stage to read aloud to their classmates.

“We reinforce to the students that reading is fundamental and that if they love and excel at reading at a young age, the sky is the limit,” said Bret Harte Elementary Principal Jeremy Helinski.

When the tale reached the end, Durant, Adams and Lopez then asked the students a series of questions about the book to reinforce what they saw and heard. Students selected by Warriors Dance Team members Kaylee and Brianna provided their astute answers and then excitedly joined Durant and Coach Adams on stage to receive autographed team memorabilia.

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Read to Achieve Reading Rally, Presented by Ross Stores

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Photos: Read to Achieve Rally, Presented by Ross Stores

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Photos: Read to Achieve Back-To-School Rally, Presented by Ross Stores

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Read To Achieve Back-To-School Rally

On Wednesday, September 22, Warriors Forward James Michael McAdoo and Assistant Coach Bruce Fraser joined over 500 students at San Jose’s Robert F. Kennedy Elementary to highlight the importance of reading and to host a fun interactive reading event. Warriors Hype Woman Ruby Lopez welcomed the students to the Read-To-Achieve Back To School Rally in the school cafeteria and brought the house down when introducing McAdoo and Coach Fraser.

“This Read To Achieve program is super fun, and the excitement these students have about reading together, their spirit makes this a special event,” said Coach Fraser.

Lopez led a Q&amp;A session with the two members of the Warriors organization who helped lead the team to back-to-back appearances in the NBA Finals. Both discussed their favorite books growing up, and how they challenged themselves to read new books and reach goals both on the court and in the classroom.

“Reading was very fundamental to me at a young age to learn about things that I enjoy as well as things that challenged me,” said McAdoo. “As a kid I struggled with math, so what I did was read the math textbooks over and over, until is eventually became one of my strongest subjects in high school. I want to encourage these kids to invest their time in their own futures.”

McAdoo and Fraser then led the students through an interactive reading of the books Lyle Lyle, Crocodile and 5 Little Monkeys, inviting Reading Partners students on stage to read aloud while their classmates followed the story on captioned illustrations on nearby screens. After each story, Lopez asked the students questions about the story’s plotline and protagonists, allowing students to earn Warriors prizes for correct answers.

“I loved seeing our students reading the story in front of their classmates proudly and excitedly,” said Reading Partners Silicon Valley Executive Director Aarika Riddle. “It’s great to see the Warriors visiting today to emphasize the importance of literacy, helping to close our community’s education gap and rewarding them with today’s event.”

After, the students all took the Read to Achieve Pledge to read every day and explore new worlds and topics through the written word. Before the event’s conclusion, Lopez surprised the students by announcing that every student would go home with a new book, courtesy of Ross Stores.

“Coach Fraser and James Michael really showed to the kids today how reading and literacy is really important but also a lot of fun”, said Ross Stores Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Leslie Oestreicher. “Literacy is a really important part of philanthropic mission, and the Read To Achieve program with the Warriors is a fantastic way to combine our passions for literacy education among the youth.”

This Reading Time-Out was the final event of the Warriors Back to School in the Bay campaign. With the campaign tip-off on July 28 and running through the end of September, the Warriors aim to impact over 10,000 Bay Area youth and provide 2,000 backpacks and school supplies to schools throughout the Bay Area.

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Warriors Join Students for Read To Achieve Back-To-School Rally

Andy Fahey

On Wednesday afternoon, over 600 Longfellow Elementary students sat down in their school auditorium for a Read to Achieve rally with the Golden State Warriors and Ross Stores. What the students did not expect was Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr, Assistant Coach Luke Walton and NBC Bay Area Traffic Anchor Mike Inouye to walk through the crowd to slap high fives, welcome them to the reading rally and talk to them about the importance of reading.

“Reading is a skill that I use every day to coach the Golden State Warriors, to have fun when I have free time, and to read to my kids,” said Kerr. “There is nothing you do every day that helps you learn, be a better student and stay mentally in tune more than reading.”

Following introductions, Inouye interviewed Kerr and Walton while the excited youngsters listened intently about the value of reading every day to expand their imaginations and maintain a healthy body.

“The two most valuable things you have are your health and your brain,” said Walton. “The best way to keep your mind healthy and strong is to read as often as you can.”

The two Warriors coaches and Inouye then read aloud from the children’s stories Rainbow Fish and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, while inviting students from Longfellow Elementary’s Star Students program to join them on stage and read from pages of the books. After reading each story, Warriors Hype Man Franco Finn asked the students in the crowd questions about  the two books. The winning students received autographed Warriors items.

“Having students on stage to read with these superstars really encourages students to read to achieve every day,” said Longfellow Elementary School Principal Carrie Betti.

Kerr, Walton, Inouye and the students then read the Read to Achieve Pledge aloud, promising to read books every day and listening to their teachers to become the best students and learners possible. Before leaving, Franco surprised Longfellow Elementary by announcing that each student would receive a new book as well as a Read to Achieve t-shirt, tote bag and pencil pouch, courtesy of Ross Stores.

“This fantastic reading event hopefully motivates students to read more, learn more and find success in the classroom and in life,” said Ross Stores Head of Strategic Sourcing and Corporate Social Responsibility, Marjan Voit. “What we achieved today is creating a connection with the children about reading and allows us to help and support the community that we live in”

This week is the Warriors’ “Back to School in the Bay: 5 Schools in 5 Days” initiative to help raise awareness about the importance of education in the Bay Area. Longfellow Elementary school students were incredibly excited to return to their classrooms and to fulfill their pledge to read as many new and interesting books as possible.

“I’m thankful to the Warriors and Ross for coming to our school to talk about reading and learning a lot in school this year,” said third grader Ariel.