SC’s First Husband, Schools Chief Read to Kids

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – South Carolina’s education chief and the governor’s husband read separately to students as part of a campaign highlighting the importance of early literacy. Michael Haley and school Superintendent Mick Zais read “Llama Llama Red Pajama” to elementary students Thursday in Columbia as part of Jumpstart’s sixth-annual Read for the Record campaign, which seeks to set a world record for people reading the same book on the same day. Organizers say the event shows the need for high-quality preschool for poor children. Jumpstart says millions of youngsters are at risk of failure before they start school. Zais agrees poor children start at a disadvantage, partly because they don’t have books at home. He wants elementary schools to focus on reading. But he has not supported expanding the state’s limited 4-year-old program.