For the past 18 years, the P.E.I. Literacy Alliance has run its highly successful summer tutoring program called Ready Set Learn.
Each summer, up to 25 tutors work one-to-one with close to 800 elementary-aged children who struggle in school. The success of this summer program combined with the needs of Island children have led the alliance to work at expanding this into a year-round program.
“There is an increasing need for tutoring to help children who struggle to keep pace with their peers.” says alliance chairman Jeff Murphy.
“To address the need, the alliance is offering its free tutoring program during this school year as a pilot expansion. As a result, an additional 144 children in seven schools will receive free one-to-one tutoring. Our goal is to make the Ready Set Learn Program year-round and help 1,600 Island children annually by 2019/2020.”
Donations to the Give the Gift of Literacy This Holiday Season campaign can help support the program. Donations can be made online at peiliteracy.ca or by calling 902-368-3620.
Children describe the program as valuable and enabling them to learn they are smart and actually like to read.
Georgetown Elementary School vice-principal Sheryl O’Hanley says the program will help many of her school’s students.
“This program will provide an early intervention for many of our students and provide an opportunity for our middle school students to get the extra instruction they need,” she says.
While the alliance has secured funding to run this pilot, it has not secured any funding to run the program with 20 tutors for 2019/2020.
