School & Family Magazine Newstand Mesquite ISD Winter 2017 | Page 15

role models to Cannaday students. Even though
the senior athletes look, talk and act like grown
men, she said, “they still have a childlike heart. It’s
really cool for our kids to see that.”
Phillips, an SMU football commit, said he enjoys
acting as the teacher in the classroom. “When you
read to them, they really soak it in. You’ve got a lot
of influence,” he said.
Coach McDaniel is proud of the way the Pirates
have embraced ReadPlayTalk, Mesquite ISD’s early
literacy initiative. The goal of ReadPlayTalk is to
ensure MISD students are reading on grade level
by third grade, and to give parents and community
members the
resources to
build a strong
foundation for
our youngest
students so
that they enter
kindergarten
ready to read.
our true feeder patterns and develops strong
bonds between our student groups. It gives our
elementary students something to look forward to
each week, and shows them that they, too, can be
leaders in their community one day.
“Our [Poteet] kids are obviously really learning what
it means for them to get to interact with those
young kids and see how important they are. They’re
role models,” he said.
Most importantly, the role of these athletes is to
inspire others through their willingness to serve. It
speaks volumes to the young students that high
school football players want to invest in them and
their learning.
McDaniel
said, “We
want our
kids to
understand
the value of
education.”
3rd & Goal puts
ReadPlayTalk
into action,
shows
support for
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