Reading isn’t just a skill learned in school. It’s a miracle.

Margery Mayer, president of Scholastic Education, brought that message to city, county and community leaders as well as students Wednesday morning at Selma Middle CHAT Academy. Mayer visited the school to not only meet with community leaders, but also to discuss the importance of reading.

“Reading is the great equalizer,” Mayer said. “It is the great right.”

According to Mayer, helping teenagers who struggle with reading is the most important educational issue. Many older readers haven’t yet mastered reading skills necessary for academic careers, Mayer said.

“And here you are, Selma, at the forefront,” Mayer said.

Selma Middle CHAT Academy implemented a program created by Scholastic called READ 180 in 2003 – 2004 as did the School of Discovery. The program helps students in grades 3 through 12 do a 180 degree turn in reading.

READ 180 is currently used in more than 4,000 school districts in America.

Community leaders praised Mayer and Scholastic for their efforts in promoting reading. Selma City School System Superintendent Dr. James Carter noted that 97,000 students in Alabama couldn’t read at grade level. “We are on the cutting edge,” Carter said. “We understand that students must know how to read in order to be successful.”

District 67 State Rep. Yusuf Salaam said the focus must be on the minds of youth. “I’m just so proud to see this development right here in Selma,” Salaam said.

State Sen. Hank Sanders agreed. Sanders told an anecdote Wednesday morning about two men locked in identical cells with windows. One man looks down through the window and sees dirt. The other looks up and sees blue sky and clouds. “They were both in the same place, but they saw different things,” Sanders said. “I believe I read that back in the 50’s in Scholastic. Reading has been very powerful in my life.”

Kobi Little, with U.S. Rep. Artur Davis’ office, said that passing a book onto a friend was like passing a baton. “Reading is the key to freedom,” Little said. “Give a book, pass the baton, share a story.”

Selma City Council President George Evans said learning to read was a process. First, the alphabet is learned, then words, sentences and paragraphs. Mayer returned to that theme when she spoke. According to Mayer, reading is akin to a miracle because marks on a page translate into meaning. “People recognize the word ‘red’ faster than when they look at the color,” Mayer said. “But people have to teach us what the marks mean. Children need help reading and CHAT has those people.”