In 2012 the Duke Endowment Foundation started an initiative to engage rural churches in North Carolina in providing a summer learning intervention to improve literacy in elementary students in their community. The two initial program sites have grown to 20 in 2022, with 429 students served. The goals of the Summer Literacy Initiative are 1.) to improve literacy outcomes for the students they serve, 2.) foster deeper community-church relationships, and 3.) enrich the lives of families and congregation members. Summer Literacy programs are based on the following 6 guiding principles and delivered through the lenses of cultural humility and trauma informed approaches:
- Start with a striving and engaged church community
- Foster deeper community-church relationships
- Provide wraparound services
- Hire empowered and effective teachers
- Provide data-informed and student-focused instruction
- Involve and engage the student’s families.
Oxford United Methodist Church, in partnership with the Duke Endowment Summer Literacy Initiative, has hosted a Summer Literacy Program for the past 4 years. Program components include:
- 80-90 hours of literacy instruction founded in the Science of Reading.
- Small student/teacher ratio of 10-12 students per class with a licensed teacher and teacher assistant.
- Rising first or second grade students at intense need of reading intervention based on their mid year iReady or DIBELS assessments.
- Formal pre and post reading assessments
- Ongoing formative assessments which drive instruction
- Breakfast, lunch, a morning and afternoon snack
- Weekly family night dinners
- Enrichment activities
The Endowment provides partial funding, professional development, and technical assistance to support Summer Literacy sites in implementing an evidence-informed program. Remaining costs are covered by community partners. For more information on becoming a community partner contact Oxford United Methodist Church at 919 693-4091.