The United Way Power Reading program strikes again with an awards ceremony on Aug. 2 that will reward Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley students who made strides in the literacy program this summer.
The City of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department partnered with the United Way and Fighting Back Santa Maria to meet the literacy needs of area youth over the summer. Fighting Back recruited 15 students from seventh- to ninth-grade who would benefit from improving their reading skills, with the United Way providing Power Reading Plus software, and the city volunteering use of the Teen Media Center at the Abel Maldonado Youth Community Center.
All participants showed improvement in comprehension and words read per minute in the first few weeks. On Aug. 2, the students will be honored with award certificates and prizes from local businesses.
Power Reading is a comprehensive program designed to help improve a community’s literacy skills and abilities. It’s offered to schools and for home-study students. More than 50 percent of Santa Barbara County students read below the appropriate grade level standard, according to a press release, and the goal of Power Reading is to cut that number in half by the year 2020.
The awards ceremony will take place at the Abel Maldonado Youth Community Center’s Teen Media Center in Santa Maria from 11:30 a.m. to noon. For more information, contact Dawn May, United Way director of education services, at 922-0329, Ext. 114.
