Reading College celebrates record 79 graduates

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The number of kids that graduated this year marks an all-time high for the program, which has been around for 15 years.

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“When we first started, I think we had 62-63, and I figured that there’s such a need for it, we need to increase the size. We’ve just been growing pretty well over the last four years,” Carmichael said.

(Image Credit: rdnewsNOW/Ian Gustafson)

The Reading College is a free summer program put on by the Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools that strengthens literacy skills of students.

The program is specifically designed for Grade 2 students who are heading into Grade 3 and struggle to read at the Grade 3 level.

This year it kicked off on June 29 and concluded with the graduation ceremony on July 24. The program is funded by the community through the foundation and costs approximately $100,000 to put on.

Students are bused to and from the program at Red Deer Polytechnic and provided breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Morning sessions focus on reading, writing, and word work in a small classroom setting and in the afternoon, the class reads stories, works on sight words, and does fun activities.

Carmichael said every year she can see how the program raises the kids’ confidence.

“Part of it is that belief that they can do it and that confidence; I love seeing that. I could cry just at that alone because if they believe it they will do it.

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A total of 79 students graduated from Reading College, a summer literacy program put on by the Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools. It’s the most in it’s 15-year history.

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Carmichael explained that this year they added kids to their classrooms where English is their second language. They introduced it last year as a pilot project and felt it was important to keep.

“I would say the pace was slower, more visuals, and it was material to meet their needs,” she said.

She said this program truly changes the lives of kids who take part. So much so, there’s been talk about potentially creating a similar numeracy program.