Napa Mayor Jill Techel discussed the importance of reading, keeping Napa clean and what it's like to be a mayor with 570 Napa Valley Language Academy students on Friday.

Techel was part of a ceremony rewarding NVLA students with certificates of appreciation for meeting their school's reading goals and for honoring a written pledge they took at the beginning of the year to keep the campus litter free.

"We are here to celebrate our readers," said Assistant Principal Pam Perkins.

Since the start of this school year students have been required to read 20-30 minutes every day and to pick up any litter at school or around their neighborhood. Students are then required to write a summary of what they read to their teachers, said Principal Deborah Wallace. "At the end of the week we graphed the percentages of the students who did their reading for the week." Students who did their daily reading for October were rewarded with a book of their choice.

Following a slide presentation, students, parents and teachers picked up litter and the students sang litter and literacy songs they had memorized. Students were then greeted by Techel and another special guest, David Anderson.

Over the summer the Register wrote about David Anderson, a mortgage consultant with Wells Fargo who called on clients and friends to pick up trash at least once a week around their neighborhood or workplace. Those who stuck to their pledges were rewarded with a certificate signed by Mayor Techel.

As a result of the story, parent Sarah Carpenter encouraged the NVLA community to follow Anderson's example.

"I thought that was something that we can implement to the campus," said Carpenter, mother of two students at NVLA.

Anderson told the students how his daughter inspired him to keep Napa clean.

"I'm so happy (the students are) committed with me in helping keep Napa clean," said Anderson. He also asked the students who had done their reading. All of the kids raised their hands.

"The room is full of them. Wow, I'm impressed," Techel said. "Raise your hand if you read with your parents?" Again, all the kids raised their hands. "I miss that, my kids are all grown up," Techel said.

After reading the students a passage from the book "100 Ways to Motivate Others," Techel challenged the students to be the next group of leaders in their community.

A handful of students then got a chance to ask Techel questions, including who gets keys to the city and why, and whether she was involved in a close race for mayor. At the end of the Q&A session, Anderson asked Techel if he could join in.

"I've been out of school for 47 years," Anderson said. "I want to ask you if you will sign the over 500 certificates to all the students who were committed in helping keep the school clean."

Techel agreed.

The assembly closed with a pledge from students, read in both English and Spanish, that they will continue to do their best in picking up litter every day at school and around the neighborhood in the next school year. Before leaving, Techel was presented with flowers and a white shirt with the imprint of the world in a shape of a heart with the words below it: "Dos idiomas un corazon," or "Two languages one heart."