JMU College of Education Hosts "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?"

Think the mayor isn't any smarter than a fifth grader? How about your local weather forecaster? Your old professor? 

Now's your chance to see once and for all. 

The James Madison University College of Education will host "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" featuring numerous local celebrities from the Shenandoah Valley and JMU communities at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 25 at the War Memorial Auditorium, Memorial Hall on the JMU campus. 

Admission is $2 per person or $5 for a family, with proceeds benefiting the Reading Show Gus Bus. 

Who: The public is invited to see local celebrities including Harrisonburg Mayor Kai Degner, WHSV-TV weather forecaster Kirk Clyatt and numerous JMU faculty members and students prove their wits. 

What: The JMU College of Education hosts a special "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" contest to benefit the Reading Road Show Gus Bus. 

When: 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 25. 

Where: War Memorial Auditorium, Memorial Hall, JMU campus (395 S. High, Harrisonburg). Parking available in the C7, C8 and R9 lots surrounding Memorial Hall. 

About the COE: The JMU College of Education houses the departments of Early, Elementary and Reading Education; Exceptional Education; Learning, Technology and Leadership Education; Middle, Secondary and Mathematics Education; and Military Science. The Gus Bus (formerly The Reading Road Show) was developed in 2002 through a collaborative effort among eight agencies. The program literally takes reading on the road for children from birth to age five. In the past three years, The Gus Bus and The Reading Road Show's literacy efforts have reached more than 2,000 children in the Valley through regular visits to daycare providers, pre-kindergarten classrooms and neighborhood sites. 

Contact: JMU IIHS Early Literacy Initiatives Director Pat Kennedy, (540) 568-2557 or kennedpa@jmu.edu