About the Duke Endowment
The Duke Endowment is a private foundation, established in 1924, that is dedicated to enriching lives and strengthening communities in North and South Carolina. The work of the Endowment primarily focuses on four program areas (Child & Family Well-Being, Health Care, Higher Education, and Rural Church) while building off of strong connections with their grantees and community partners.
This Summer Literacy Initiative is something the Endowment has been working to expand since 2012. With this program, the Endowment “is working with rural congregations in North Carolina to combat learning loss in their communities through evidence-informed summer literacy programs for rising first- through third-graders. The goals are to improve literacy outcomes for students who are at risk for reading failure and encourage churches to play an effective role in helping children and families.”
To read more about this initiative, visit https://www.dukeendowment.org/project-details/summer-literacy-initiative.
About our program
Camp Dates: June 20 - July 21 (Monday - Friday)
Camp Times: Approx. 7:45 a.m. until 3 p.m. (Daily)
Camp Location: Long Memorial United Methodist Church (226 N Main St, Roxboro, NC 27573)
Students: 36 current Public School Kindergarten & First Graders (These will be students that were identified as being behind grade level in reading by Person County Schools. Invitations were sent to roughly 400 students. Completed applications were prioritized based on need for reading help.)
Model: We will follow The Duke Endowment’s Summer Literacy Initiative model, which 20 sites currently follow statewide. This means we will also be participating in Duke-sponsored research/evaluation.
Focus: Following that model, we will have 80-90 hours of literacy instruction throughout the duration of this program. There will also be nearly 80 hours of enrichment, including family support & engagement.
Outcomes: We hope this program will increase student and family confidence overall. We hope for an average growth of 3-6 months in reading scores; however, the main goal is to prevent and/or eliminate the potential for summer learning loss within these students. In the end, we hope our community is strengthened, families feel supported, and more sites sign-up to get involved.
Our reading curriculum
Achieve the Core https://achievethecore.org/page/944/read-aloud-project
Heggerty https://heggerty.org/curriculum#levels-languages
UFLI https://ufli.education.ufl.edu/foundations/
Letterland https://us.letterland.com/
Interactive Read Alouds
Enrichment & Engagement
How Enrichment works:
Each afternoon, our students will get a break from reading instruction to engage in activities that have the potential to enrich their lives. This is apart of our whole child approach to learning. Each Monday, Lexi Swick (Person County 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent), will have exciting activities planned. Every Tuesday through Thursday, our students will spend part of their afternoon rotating through "specials" (Gym, Dance, and Social-Emotional Learning) with their Enrichment Leads. After specials, they will participate in crafts on Tuesdays, community engagement opportunities on Wednesdays, and STEAM activities on Thursdays. Every Friday, we will be visiting the Kirby to take part in their Free Summer Show Series.
Week 1 (June 20 - 23) - Dr. Seuss
Week 2 (June 26 - 30) - Around the Town
Week 3 (July 5 - 7) - Under the Sea
Week 4 (July 10 - 14) - Transportation
Week 5 (July 17 - 21) - All About Animals
The more we see our families, the better! We will have weekly family meals to help build rapport among students, families, and the members of our staff. These meals will serve as an opportunity
for parents and guardians to learn about their child's progress, see their work, and learn from special guests each week. We will also be sending home supplemental materials and information that parents and guardians can use outside of our program.
Meal 1 - Thursday, June 15 (Orientation)
Meal 2 - Thursday, June 22 (Pick-up during dismissal to accommodate VBS at Long Memorial)
Meal 3 - Thursday, June 29 (5:30 - 7:00)
Meal 4 - Thursday, July 6 (5:30 - 7:00)
Meal 5 - Thursday, July 13 (5:30 - 7:00)
Meal 6 - Thursday, July 20 (5:30 - 7:00)
Weekly enrichment themes:
How Engagement Works:
weekly engagement Meals:
MEet our staff
Volunteer
Coordinator
Tracey O'Briant
Preschool Teacher
at Long Memorial UMC
Site
Director
Autumn Snow
EC Teacher
at Roxboro Community School
Family Engagement &
Enrichment Coordinator
Sara Coates
Family Service Worker
at Earl Bradsher Preschool
Lead Teacher
Stacey Paith
Reading Specialist
at South Elementary
Lead Teacher
Loyan Edwards Smith
Second Grade Teacher
at South Elementary
Lead Teacher
Michele Wyant
Fourth Grade Teacher
at South Elementary
Teacher Assistant
Rosalyn Spencer
Kindergarten TA
at North Elementary
Enrichment Lead
Kyleigh Burton
Dance Major
at East Carolina University
Teacher Assistant
& Enrichment Lead
Rojon Pettiford
Second Grade Teacher
at North Elementary
Teacher Assistant
Pam Thorpe
EC TA
at Stories Creek Elementary
Enrichment Lead
Tamara Hinton
Guidance Counselor
at North Elementary
Donation Support Needed:
How to help
In-Person Support Needed:
Financial Support welcome:
School & Enrichment Supplies - Check out our Amazon Wishlist!
Books - New or slightly used books (for kindergarten & 1st graders).
Food - Weekly family meals, as well as extra snacks.
Reading Buddies - Volunteer to read with students (once, daily, or weekly).
Family Meals - Volunteer to help plan or host family meal nights (once or weekly).
Kitchen/Dining - Volunteer to help prepare, serve, and clean-up (once, daily, or weekly).
Clean-up - Volunteer to help keep all of our spaces clean each evening.
Supply Runs - Volunteer to help us gather supplies as needed (once, daily, weekly).
Monetary donations can always be made to help buy additional supplies, contribute to
payroll for program staff, purchase extra snacks, books, and or any additional
supplemental materials needed for enrichment activities.
Direct donations can be made by sending checks to Long Memorial UMC (PO Box 310)
Roxboro, NC 27573. Be sure to write "Summer Literacy" on the check as well.
