TAVARES – Teachers, administrators, and support staff from several Lake County elementary schools will take a bus ride through local neighborhoods this weekend, greeting students with free books at stops along the way.
The Book Bus project kicks off “Celebrate Literacy Week 2026,” a Florida Department of Education initiative designed to raise awareness about the importance of reading and to inspire Florida’s students and families to make reading a part of their daily routines. This year’s theme is “Read, White and Blue: Celebrating 250 Chapters of America,” in honor of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
The statewide literacy celebration officially kicks off on Monday, January 26, and continues through Friday, January 30. But Lake County Schools is starting early with Eustis Heights and Seminole Springs elementary schools hosting the “book bus” rides on Saturday, January 24. Leesburg Elementary will do the same on Saturday, January 31.
Most elementary schools across the district will bring in guest readers, including elected officials, other community leaders, and Superintendent Diane Kornegay. At Seminole Springs, all guest readers will read America: The Patriot Primer to their assigned class on Wednesday, January 28. Immediately afterward, the school will host a Liberty Tree ceremony in partnership with the Lake County Historical Society, with a tree donated by Cherry Lake Tree Farm.
Other Literacy Week activities in Lake include the following:
Lost Lake Elementary is hosting a Book Swap Shop. Each morning, students can visit the cafetorium stage to bring books to leave for other students while taking books their classmates chose to share.
A masked reader event at the Aurelia M. Cole Academy will feature school staff members in inflatable costumes, disguising their voices as students guess their identities on Tuesday, January 27, and Wednesday, January 28.
Sorrento Elementary is hosting a Literacy and Science Night on Tuesday, January 27
Cypress Ridge Elementary students will write stories about their favorite American hero or American tradition on Tuesday, January 27.
The Villages Elementary of Lady Lake is hosting “Read S’More Books,” a literacy night with hot dogs, s’mores, campfire bingo, and a book fair, on Wednesday, January 28.
Treadway Elementary will “Saddle Up & Read” as students and staff don western gear for an X-STREAM Rodeo Night, where reading and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) come together in a big way for families on Wednesday, January 28.
Groveland Elementary will host Literacy Night with free food, prizes, and a performance by the Sunrise Storytellers on Thursday, January 29..
Pine Ridge Elementary is hosting a “Poem in Your Pocket” event on Friday, January 30, with students reading poems on stage to their peers during lunch.
Seminole Springs will wrap up Literacy Week with a visit from the Lake County Supervisor of Elections, who will bring official voting booths, ballots, and “I voted” stickers. Every morning during the week, students will listen to a patriotic book read aloud to them, and at the end of the week, they will vote for their favorite.