1. U.S. Department of Education’s Let's Read! Let's Move! Summer Series Celebrates
Inclusive Arts Education at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will visit the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts on Wednesday, July 22, for Let's Read! Let's Move! as part of a broader
initiative to engage youth in summer learning and physical activity. Duncan will join U.S.
Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, White House Let’s Move! Director Debra
Eschemeyer, and Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts VP of Education Mario Rossero who
will read the touching book, Giraffes Can’t Dance to more than 150 children attending the event.
Kennedy Center Education Department Teaching Artists and local dance teaching artists will
then lead the children in movement activities focused on exploring healthy movement through
dance. These Let’s Move! activities are inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama's initiative to
combat childhood obesity by emphasizing healthy eating and an active lifestyle.
This event, themed “Dance is for Every Body,” will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the
American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA). The event is part of a larger celebration of civil and
human rights and the importance of inclusive arts and arts education embodied in the 25th
Americans with Disabilities Act and the 40th VSA (formerly Very Special Arts) anniversaries.
The story Giraffes Can’t Dance, will help children learn that although individuals may be
differently abled, they have the potential to be as successful as anyone else. This event will
promote the idea that every young person with a disability deserves access to educational
experiences in the arts. It also encourages schools to include differently abled students in their
instruction in order for them to have the opportunity to aspire to a career in the arts, if they so
choose.
“Children—especially young children—need experiences that help them continue learning
throughout the summer to build a strong foundation for success in school and in life,” said
Duncan. “Let's Read! Let's Move! provides fun, hands-on activities that highlight the importance
of preparing students in every way possible—academically and physically—to achieve in school,
by teaching them how a healthy, active lifestyle can positively affect their ability to learn.”
Let’s Read! Let’s Move! is the sub-initiative of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative that aims
to increase awareness about the critical importance of summer learning, nutrition and physical
activity. The Department of Education launched Let’s Read! Let’s Move! in 2010, following an
Administration-wide effort by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the
federal agency which administers AmeriCorps and other service programs. These events bring
together hundreds of early learning students—pre-kindergarten through third grade—across a
diverse demographic stretching from the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and beyond. Let’s
Read! Let’s Move! also encourages youth participation and community service through the
support of AmeriCorps members and a partnership with the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington
PHD (Physical, Healthy & Driven) program. Target Corporation provides healthy snacks, and
every child is able to select a free new book to take home, courtesy of Target and its partnership
with First Book.
WHO:
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

2. U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy
Director of Let’s Move! Debra Eschemeyer, White House senior policy advisor for nutrition
policy
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts VP of Education Mario Rossero
Washington Kastles Tennis Team (TBD)
Critically-acclaimed GIMP dance troupe Lawrence Carter-Long
Artistic Director of the Washington Ballet Septime Webre (TBD)
THEARC (satellite campus of Washington School of Ballet) dancers
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Teaching Artists Allison Crosby, Fred Beam and
Antoine Hunter
Kennedy Center Teaching Artist Victor Haskins
Students from:
 Beacon House, Washington, D.C.
 St. Anthony Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
 Lollipop Kids Foundation, Rockville, Md.
 Friendship Public Charter School, Washington, D.C.
 Montgomery County Public Schools, Md.
 Kingsbury Day School, Washington, D.C.
WHAT:
Let’s Read! Let’s Move! summer enrichment event
WHEN:
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
 11:00 a.m. EDT, Pre-show with Kennedy Center Teaching Artist Victor Haskins, and his
jazz trio, center of Grand Foyer in front of bust of JFK
 11:30 a.m. EDT, Let’s Read! with Secretary Duncan and guests, center of Grand Foyer in
front of bust of JFK
 12:00 p.m. EDT, Let’s Move! activities, front of the North Millennium Stage facing
Eisenhower Theater
 12:30 p.m. EDT, Book distribution begins, Hall of States
WHERE:
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F St. N.W.,
Washington, D.C.
Press entrance:
Members of the media are advised to arrive at 10:30 a.m.
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