A Vernon school is among 30 in Canada to receive funding to combat declining literacy rates.
Alexis Park Elementary School received $60,000 from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation.
“Through the Literacy Fund Grant, we strive to help close education gaps and inequalities that unfortunately exist in Canada’s education system today. This year’s Literacy Fund Grant recipients represent a diverse cross-section of communities and backgrounds—we are working with more First Nations communities than ever before as well as schools in urban centres and rural areas,” says Rose Lipton, executive director of the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation.
“Regardless of location or background, all of these students and educators share a commitment to literacy, a deep resiliency in the face of adversity and most importantly unlimited potential with the right resources in place.”
The schools utilize the grant funds to replace worn books and expand their libraries, helping to ensure that every student has the chance to fall in love with reading. Students are often able to work directly with librarians to request their favourite authors and titles, and some take field trips to their local Indigo locations to pick out books themselves.
This year’s grant distribution is the next step in the foundation’s pledge to improve Canada’s literacy rates and provide equal access to books for all schools in the country.
“This grant provides the opportunity to vigorously diversify our school collection of books, in both the library and classrooms, ensuring that our students see themselves and their classmates in the texts they read. It will allow us to grow our literacy programs, specifically, our beloved Literacy Week and Battle of the Books,” said a staff member from one of this year’s recipient schools. “We will be able to nurture and grow focused areas of literature such as Indigenous worldviews, inclusion, social emotional and place-based learning.”
The total grant allocation for the entire program is $1.5 million.
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