At 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 5 Colorado First Lady Frances Owens will visit the American Indian Focus School at College View Elementary School and read to students as part of the nationwide “Scholastic Read for 2004,” the fifth annual children's reading initiative created by Scholastic, the global children's publishing and media company. The read-a-thon encourages children, parents and teachers to set aside time to pick up a book and read to affirm the importance of reading on this day and every day.

This year a record breaking 40 state governors' spouses have volunteered to serve as Scholastic Read for 2004 Ambassadors of Reading, leading their states in this reading celebration. Last year more than five million students and 27,000 teachers in over 60 countries joined together to celebrate their love of books.

Friday’s program will begin with the College View Elementary School Color Guard, and then fifth-grader Louis Lopez will unveil the school flag that was designed last year. Owens will read to students, address the importance of reading and present 1,200 books to the school. The books were donated and collected by the O'Hearn family. Mr. and Mrs. O'Hearn and their children Tommy and Brooks (who collected the books) will be present. Some were donated by Timberline Elementary School (Cherry Creek School District). There will be time for questions and answers.

College View Elementary School is integrating this event into its "Read 2003 Seconds to Reach the Goal of Reading a Million Words!"

American Indian Focus Schools centralize the enrollment of American Indian students (K-12) to enhance their learning by providing educational and cultural support services. American Indian courses are offered for credit at East High School. Eligible elementary students can enroll in one of four schools - Brown, Carson, College View or Wyman. Hamilton Middle School, East High School and the CEC Middle College of Denver serve students at the secondary level.

College View Elementary School is located at 2675 S. Decatur St. For more information, contact the school at 303-934-5689.