Usha Vance And Sarah Sanders Join Forces For A Classroom Comeback

Second Lady Usha Vance will join Republican Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday to promote childhood literacy and recognize educators as part of her ongoing efforts to get more American children to fall in love with reading.

Vance and Sanders will begin their visit at Glenview Elementary School in North Little Rock, where they will visit students in their classrooms. The pair will then host a roundtable with state education leaders before Vance reads aloud to a school assembly.

The second lady and governor will conclude the day with a reception at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion honoring teachers who earned bonuses through the state’s Merit Teacher Incentive Fund.

“I’m so excited to visit Arkansas and meet the students, educators, and families who are making a difference in childhood literacy,” Vance said in a press release exclusively shared with The Daily Wire. “Helping children discover a love of reading is one of the greatest gifts we can give them.”

Sanders said education remains a top priority for her administration and praised Vance for bringing national attention to childhood literacy.

“There is no priority more important than the next generation, and there is no better way to set our kids up for success than by providing them with a great education,” said Sanders. “The Second Lady has put a national focus on childhood literacy and Arkansas is answering the call. Under my administration, we’ve made massive strides in education, and I’m excited that Mrs. Vance gets to visit and meet with some of the students and educators who are helping our schools thrive.”

Vance has made encouraging children to read a major focus of her work as second lady. Earlier this year, her Summer Reading Challenge encouraged elementary and middle school students to read 12 books during summer break. Children who completed the challenge received a personalized letter from Vance, a certificate, prizes, and entry into a raffle for a chance to visit the White House.

The initiative drew participation from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and several U.S. territories, more than doubling from the previous summer. Vance also hosts the “Storytime with the Second Lady” podcast, featuring guest readers from entertainment, sports, and other areas. 

In a recent interview with Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan, Vance discussed concerns about declining literacy and the growing pull of screens on children, emphasizing reading as a way to encourage sustained attention and a love of learning.

“I was really concerned by what I was seeing about the decline in literacy scores, the decline in reading for pleasure,” she said, adding that she’s noticed “the loss of attention and the attraction that screen-based inputs have to everyone, children and adults.”

“I thought that was a really good place to put some effort, because there’s so much you can do to counteract that,” the second lady shared. “And I’m in a position where I don’t have a massive budget to deploy. I don’t have an agency that I run. What I have is the ability to bring together different people who are interested in the topic and get them to actually take action … So it was worth taking on.”

Arkansas has also pursued education reforms under Sanders’ leadership. The governor signed the LEARNS Act in 2023, raising the state’s minimum teacher salary from $36,000 to $50,000, deploying 120 literacy coaches, and establishing universal school choice.

The law also created the Merit Teacher Incentive Fund, which has awarded more than $50 million in bonuses to over 12,000 educators, according to the governor’s office. Sanders has also said student test scores have increased across grades and subjects since the law was passed. 

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