Governor Corzine and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan Kick-Off Summer of Service Initiative

Libraries play vital role

FANWOOD – Governor Jon S. Corzine joined U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan today to launch President Obama’s Summer of Service initiative in New Jersey . The program, United We Serve, is a nationwide service program designed to encourage citizens to participate in the nation’s recovery and renewal. From June 22 to September 11, United We Serve will engage Americans in addressing community needs in education, health, energy and the environment, and community renewal.

Governor Corzine said while libraries across New Jersey will provide information about volunteer activities for those who want to participate in the program, they also play a critical role in education for their contributions to literacy and other social and educational opportunities for children.

“Individuals who volunteer to read to students over the summer can help to moderate reading loss, which occurs when students are not in school during June, July and August,” said Governor Corzine. “This is the best ground work we can lay to strengthen literacy and help close the achievement gap for young students.”

Governor Corzine’s commitment to education is strong.  He has increased funding for education by over $1.8 billion including funds from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund.  In addition, school districts across the State will benefit from increases in Title I and IDEA under the federal recovery act. The Governor’s School Funding Reform Act of 2008 is providing a unified, equitable and logical system of allocating state aid so that children in all communities have the opportunity to succeed.  Furthermore, he has been committed to strengthening high school curriculum and graduation requirements recently approved by the State Board of Education and he has been supportive of the innovative educational opportunities provided by charter schools in the state.

“We applaud President Obama’s commitment to promoting volunteerism to help keep students on track during the summer months so they return to school in the fall ready to pick up where they left off,” the Governor said.  “I encourage all New Jersey residents to volunteer this summer at your local library or visit your library to learn about other volunteer activities.”

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Photos from Governor Corzine's public events are available in the Governor's Newsroom section on the State of New Jersey web page.