Welcome
Our Goal:
100% Grade 3 Level Literacy
Campaign Goals
We've launched a $20M campaign
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1
Help young learners achieve Grade 3 literacy by Grade 3
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2
Set children up for success
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3
Strengthen our schools, our community, and our province
Co-Chairs
Campaign Co-Chairs
"Growing up and attending a community school in Saskatoon, I truly understand the importance of having supports in place to help youth with their educational goals. This is why I am excited to be part of this amazing campaign."
- Michael Linklater
"Books and stories open us up to possibility. Every time a child learns to read, limitless opportunity and possibility opens for them; they can be anyone, do anything, imagine everything, with words as their guide. They can also articulate their own story, which gives them power and freedom to connect in this world."
- Alice Kuipers
"They are all our children. And we need to give them all a chance to succeed."
- Wayne Brownlee
Literacy Stats
Literacy has a profound impact over a lifetime and begins at an early age
- 28%
- 4X Less
- $7 Gained
Every year, 28% of students (500 students) in Saskatoon Public Schools have not achieved at or above grade level literacy in reading by Grade 3.
— Saskatoon Public Board of Education Annual Report, 2017-18
A child who can’t read at grade level by Grade 3 is 4x less likely to graduate than a child who does read proficiently by that time.
— Annie Casey Foundation, Double Jeopardy: How Third Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation, 2012
For every dollar put into preventative programming, society gains $7 back into the economy.
— Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network, National Strategy for Early Literacy, 2009
Key Initiatives
Key Initiatives over 5 years
We will focus on 15 schools to achieve 100% Grade 3 level literacy in five years beginning in 2021.
Full-Day Pre-Kindergarten
Age 4
1,200 students impacted
$68K x 15 x 5 Teachers/EA
1.5 SLP $150K x 5
1.5 OT $150K x 5
15 classrooms
5.1M + 1.5M = $6.6M
Full-Day Kindergarten
Age 5
1,725 students impacted
$82.5K x 15 x 5 Teachers/EA
1.5 SLP $150K x 5
1.5 OT $150K x 5
15 classrooms
6.19M + 1.5M = $7.69M
Early Learner Tutor Program
Grades 1-3
3,875 students impacted
$375K x 5 = $1.875
$300K x 5 = $1.500
57 Tutors
$3.375M
Summer Reading Camps Program
Grades 1-3
1,500 students impacted
$75K x 5
30 Tutors
$375K
Donate Now
How you can help
SPSF is raising funds above and beyond government funding
Giving students the needed support to reach key literacy milestones and the best chance for success
Donate Now Volunteer for the campaign$1 Invested = $7 Gained
For every dollar put into preventative programming, society gains $7 back into the economy.
Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network, National Strategy for Early Literacy, 2009
Spread the Word
Meet Alice
Track Record
A track record of success
Literacy is one of the Saskatoon Public Schools Foundation’s three strategic priorities.
The Early Learner Tutor Program is one initiative with significant impact on the literacy of children attending Saskatoon Public Schools.
This involves comprehensive support for struggling readers in Grade 1 to 3 to help them progress to grade level reading by Grade 3.
Additional outcomes include improved school attendance, increased confidence and willingness to read with others. Tutors can also recognize potential learning disabilities such as learning or speech impediments.
More impressively, students taking part in the program have continued to develop their reading ability over the long-term.