Franklin Elementary was abuzz Wednesday when a special guest speaker visited the school and took time from her very busy schedule to participate in the yearlong "Can You Guess Who I Am?" program.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda L. Kelly, who has served the commonwealth in this post since last May, visited the school as a special morning announcement reader.She was the 132nd reader to take part in this initiative, created by Nan Cressley, computer power professional at the school.Other notable readers throughout the year included retired Maj. Gen. Jay Barry; former Speaker of the House Keith McCall; Carbon County Judges Steven Serfass and Joseph Matika; state Rep. Doyle Heffley; state Sens. John Yudichak and David Argall; Carbon County District Attorney Gary Dobias; Carbon County Commissioners Wayne Nothstein, Thomas J. Gerhard, William O'Gurek and former Commissioner Charles Getz; Lehighton School Board members; Santa Claus; business owners; reporters; and spouses of school staff.Cressley explained that this initiative started on the first day of the 2011-2012 school year after she read the morning announcements. Usually students read the announcements but Cressley thought it would be good to show the students adults care about the children's education."I did this because I wanted the children to see that there are at least 180 people (for the 180 school days) who are willing to give up their time to read to a child," Cressley said, noting that she hopes the students, when they get older, will follow the lessons learned through the guest readers and make time for children.She added that the initiative has been well received by both the students and staff, who also participated by being morning readers."It's been a tremendous undertaking," Cressley said of the countless number of letters she sent out, inviting officials to participate in the program.The morning announcements were read at 10:30 a.m., later than the normal time, due to PSSA testing.During the announcements, Kelly introduced herself, wished Tremaine Ervine, whose birthday was Wednesday, a Happy Birthday; congratulated Isabelle Cressley for being named the Student of The Day; and spoke a little bit about the history of Pennsylvania.She then met the students in the cafeteria for an impromptu meet and greet and question and answer session.The kindergarten classes sang a special "Welcome to Franklin Elementary" song.Kelly then explained her responsibilities as the attorney general and answered some of the students' questions.She urged them to "study hard, get good grades, stay away from drugs and treat others as you would like to be treated."Kelly said she was happy to be able to participate in the program."It's very important for public agencies to reach out to the community and show what the government does and educate the children about what their government should be doing for them," she said.