(Fort McMurray, AB - June 16th, 2023) Fort McMurray Public School Division (FMPSD) has exciting news to share! The renowned Indigo Love of Reading Foundation has generously selected Dr. K.A. Clark Public School as the recipient of their 2023 Literacy Fund Grant. This prestigious award is valued at $75,000, a significant amount that will significantly benefit the school's literacy programs. FMPSD is grateful for this incredible opportunity, which will undoubtedly enhance the educational experience for all students at Dr. K.A. Clark Public School.
The Literacy Fund Grant provides essential support for literacy initiatives at elementary schools in Canada by providing funding for the purchase of books and educational resources. The grant aims to improve literacy among young students who may otherwise not have access to the resources necessary to succeed in their education.
With inspiration from Composite High School's successful grant application last year, Grade 5 teacher Hilary Banks took charge of writing a grant on behalf of Dr. K.A. Clark Public School. Together with the school administration, school council and her students, they crafted compelling letters to the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, explaining their need for literacy resources that include diversity and socioemotional themes. The process for the grant initially started past winter, with teacher Hilary Banks collecting data regarding the demographics of their school population, literacy data, number of students on individual program plans and the average number of books being checked out in the school library. The students' input played a vital role in the process, making sure their voices were heard and their learning needs met.
Avery Bath, a Grade 5 student, conveyed in a letter addressed to the foundation the necessity of acquiring additional resources through the grant. This will aid in preparing young learners for post-elementary education, according to Avery.
“I think our school should receive the Indigo Love of Reading Literary Fund grant because our reading levels would go up, so we can read at a higher level and be open to more books. It would be a positive thing for students when we go to grade seven, so we have a good reading level and be good at spelling too. I really hope our school receives the grant.”
According to Dr. K.A. Clark Principal Bobbi Compton, the grant will be used towards “the expansion of materials, resources and books to enhance literacy programming and student growth.”
“Receiving the Literacy Fund Grant is unbelievable. It will give us the resources to expand literacy throughout the school, including subject-specific literacy, classroom libraries, resources, additional books and resources for our main library and so on. We are so thankful for the opportunities this grant will provide for our students, their learning and love of reading. We are already getting requests from students for specific books of interest.”
Hilary Banks, Grade 5 teacher, shares her experience of applying for a grant and her delight in receiving a generous contribution from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. Not only did they provide the expected grant amount, but they also exceeded it by double, benefiting her school significantly.
“I asked for funds for our school library, each individual classroom library, literacy resources for our Daily 5 like letter tiles, scrabble, wiki sticks, all the things that make reading and writing fun. The total I asked for was $34,000. When it was time to meet with Indigo about our grant, they said it was comprehensive, and our school was so deserving they gave us $75,000! I couldn’t believe it and was in complete shock, I was taking notes, and my pen trailed off! I’ve honestly never been so surprised; we cried happy tears because we knew what this funding meant to our community of staff, students, and parents.”
“It’s pretty amazing to know that each student will be positively impacted by this funding here at Dr. K.A. Clark, and if they go to our feeder school Composite High School, they will have a continuation of high-quality literature and resources from their Indigo grant as well.”
“It really is a dream come true.”
For additional information, contact:
Momin Syed
Communications Coordinator
Fort McMurray Public School Division
780-788-8009
communications@fmpsd.ab.ca