ATLANTIC CITY – The New Jersey Education Association has been named the title sponsor of the 26th annual “MAAC Gives Back” reading program in the Atlantic City school district. The effort includes school visits by Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s and women’s basketball teams to the city’s 11 public schools.
MAAC, an NCAA Division I conference, includes 11 schools from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will return to New Jersey March 10-14, 2020 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
The announcement was made Thursday morning at a Richmond Avenue School assembly attended by Quinnipiac University Head Coach Baker Dunleavy and his men’s basketball team along with MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor, Atlantic City Superintendent of Schools Barry Caldwell, Richmond Avenue School Principal Shelley Williams, Vice Principal Shontai Harris, Casino Reinvestment Development Authority Director of Communications and Marketing Larry Sieg and NJEA Associate Director for Organizing and Coalition Building Dawn Hiltner.
Quinnipiac Bobcats were on hand to launch a reading program in the Atlantic City public schools.
“Partnering with the MAAC was a great opportunity to not only encourage reading but to introduce our students to college athletes who can share their school experiences and serve as role models,” Hiltner said in a release.
The MAAC and the Atlantic City Board of Education have been working since the start of the academic year to encourage students in grades 3-5 to read at least 30 minutes a day as part of the district’s “Readers Become Leaders” program.
The NJEA and MAAC partnership also includes a reading contest that will reward the winning class with a pizza party and honor the most-read students in grades 3-5 on the court during the MAAC Basketball Championships in March.
NJEA leaders will be on hand on March 13, along with their “Cat in the Hat” mascot, to welcome more than 2,000 Atlantic City elementary students to the women’s basketball semifinals. The day will include a guest speaker on such topics as leadership, teamwork and sportsmanship. The classrooms will also be invited to participate in “Bounce on the Boardwalk,” where the students will be given MAAC basketballs to bounce down the Atlantic City boardwalk to the games at Boardwalk Hall.
The NJEA will also make discounted MAAC Basketball Championships tickets available to its members. The festival-like atmosphere also features the league’s ESports Championship, MAAC Fan Fest, MAAC Band Jam, MAAC‘n Cheese Fest, Spirit Squad Showcase and more.
“We have always been committed to working closely on the academic side with our host cities in promoting literacy and utilizing the power of our student-athletes to showcase the importance of school and reading,” Ensor said. “The Atlantic City school community has welcomed us with open arms and hopefully we have begun to make a difference with Monmouth, Saint Peter’s and now Quinnipiac already visiting. The NJEA brings another powerful presence to the effort and we look forward to expanding our involvement with the teacher community in the future.”
Van Wagner Sports, the multimedia rights and sponsorship partner of the MAAC, facilitated the development and execution of the partnership.
