First Lady Betsy Dalrymple Promotes Reading in Classrooms - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

First Lady Betsy Dalrymple Promotes Reading in Classrooms

North Dakota students can learn about Betsy Dalrymple in government or history class.

She is the 32nd First Lady of North Dakota.

But this morning, she went back to her own roots.

The First Lady made a special trip to Sunrise Elementary to read to kindergarten students.

She says it was easy stepping back into the role--She used to teach kindergarten when she and the Governor were first married.

As First Lady, she says she has enjoyed focusing on early childhood education.

Mrs. Dalrymple says the young students' enthusiasm for school has not changed over the years, and neither has the importance of reading.

"There's serious studies out there that say the third grade reading level is a predictor of success in life, so I think anything that you can do to encourage children at a young age to read, that's why I do the Dolly Parton Imagination Library which is 0 to 5 and I try to go into lower elementary classrooms and try and promote reading." says First Lady Betsy Dalrymple.

One of her favorite books from childhood: the classic, "The Little Engine that Could".