Someday, when Michael and Julie Kruse are reading to their new son they will surely remember Nov.

Wednesday, November 17, 1999

Someday, when Michael and Julie Kruse are reading to their new son they will surely remember Nov. 15 for more than the obvious reason.

That’s the day their baby was born and that fact made their son the first baby born during American Education Week.

Diane Dorsey, a first grade teacher at Banfield Elementary School in Austin, presented the parents with a bag of books from the Austin Education Association Tuesday.

The gesture honors the first baby born during the annual tribute to teachers and more. Dorsey hopes it will promote literacy among parents and their children.

"Studies show the importance of reading to children at an early age," Dorsey said. "The successful readers in school are those who were read to by their parents early in their lives."

The theme of this year’s AEW celebration is "Students Today - Leaders Tomorrow."

According to Dorsey, the week-long observance was born from the National Education Association’s concern that 25 percent of the country’s World War I draftees were illiterate and 29 percent were physically unfit.

The NEA and the American Legion met in 1919 to seek ways to generate public support for education.

Two years later, the NEA’s members called for designation one week each year to spotlight education.

The first AEW observance occurred December 4-10, 1921 with the NEA and American Legion as co-sponsors.

A year later, the U.S. Office of Education joined the effort as a co-sponsor and the Parent Teacher Association followed in 1938.

In 1987, the NEA Representative Assembly called for the creation of a special way to honor the contributions of school support staff.

The result was National Educational Support Personnel Day and it is been observed the Wednesday of AEW.

Today, the week’s sponsors are the U.S. Department of Education and 12 national organizations and it is always celebrated the week before Thanksgiving.

This year’s gift from the AEA included "Northwood Cradle Song" by Doug Wood, who recently participated in the Austin Public Schools Writing Festival. Wood autographed the book, making it a valuable keepsake as well as a learning tool.

There were also such books as "The Day You Were Born" and "Where The Wild Things Are" as well as a Clifford book for the fun of it.

The Kruses expressed their appreciation to Dorsey and the AEA for the gesture.

Unnamed at press-time, the baby arrived at 2:53 a.m. Monday at Austin Medical Center – Mayo Health System Hospital.

The newborn is the Kruses’ second child. Ian is 18 months old.