Early education, as well as elementary, secondary and higher education, continue to be a major focus for the General Assembly. There were more than 180 bills introduced in the Senate during the 2014 session dealing with some aspect of education. I am certainly proud of much of the work the legislature accomplishes for education in Missouri and look to carry that tradition forward.

In 2013, the Institute of Education released a report that found children who read for pleasure are more likely to do achieve higher than their peers in all math, vocabulary and spelling. There is no denying the value of reading. Last year, I was proud to take part in a national program aimed at celebrating literacy with elementary school children. This year, I am excited to participate in the same program, called Jumpstart, and in partnership with the Pearson Foundation. On Oct. 21, Jumpstart will host a mass reading of Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells, in a campaign titled Read for the Record. The goal of this event again this year is to break the world record for reading the same book on the same day.

I get to bring Bunny Cakes, a tale of both the love between siblings and birthday fun, to classrooms in both Livingston and Carroll counties. I will read to students at Chula Elementary in Chula in the morning of Oct. 21, and then head to Adams Primary Elementary in Carrollton to spend the afternoon with the teachers and students there. I look forward to sharing the story and the day with local students.

Since beginning this project in 2006 with the book, The Little Engine that Could, Jumpstart has helped bridge the early education achievement gap. Utilizing books like Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad, Llama Llama Red Pajama, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Corduroy, this campaign has engaged more than 11.5 million children, raised more than $8.6 million dollars for early education programs and provided more than 1.6 million books to needy children.

Jumpstart also trains volunteers, mostly college students and community members, to help local children at the pre-school level, especially in low-income neighborhoods, in the development of language and literacy. These are skills that students will rely on for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, these are also skills that many young students in those communities tend to lack when they get to school.

For more information on wonderful organization, the Read for the Record project or any of their other programs, please visit www.jstart.org.

As we recently wrapped up the annual veto session, I anticipate the upcoming session, opening in January 2015. I look forward to discussing many topics, but few topics are more important than all levels of education and Missouri’s students. But until then, I am excited to meet the students of both Chula and Adams Primary elementary schools and share with them the joy of reading.

As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.