Niagara University Camp Enhances Literacy Skills Of Children In Niagara Falls
U.S. Census data shows that 72 percent of adults in Niagara and Erie counties read at a fourth grade level.
Niagara University is leading the charge toward stemming that tide through functional university-backed initiatives like the Niagara County Quality Improvement Project, Help Me Grow and the Primary Enhancement Program (literacy camp), which took place July 25-Aug. 4.
The Primary Enhancement Program is a collaborative effort between NU’s College of Education and theNiagara Falls City School District. The two-week summer program, now in its eighth year, enlists faculty and graduate students from the College of Education to work with campers daily from 9 a.m. to noon to enhance literacy skills. Participants also take weekly “field trips” to places such as the on-campus Post Office, Leary Theatre and Castellani Art Museum.
The goal of the program is to begin narrowing the achievement gap in terms of reading comprehension by utilizing university resources – namely faculty and graduate students – to improve the literacy skills of the area’s youngest struggling readers.