Jan. 01 0001
For 25 years United for Literacy has been offering Summer Literacy Camps designed to bring literacy equity in Canada in communities across Canada. This program started in collaboration with Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman as an initiative to provide Indigenous children with fun and engaging learning places and reduce the loss of skills and knowledge that can occur over the school break. Camps are one of the amazing Indigenous literacy programs that empower young readers and contribute to closing the literacy gap seen in remote areas across Canada .
Summer Literacy Camps take place in many provinces, and this article will focus on Alberta.
The growth of these programs in the past decade can be clearly seen in Alberta. Essential to their success is the dedicated collaboration and mutual support among local United for Literacy staff, school boards, community members and organizations, and different levels of government. Indigenous youth are often employed as counsellors, which forges connection as well as skills. Together, we develop and deliver free summer camps where kids can focus on literacy and learning through play and discovery.
Looking back to 2016, Summer Literacy Camp took place in nine communities in Alberta, including Gift Lake Métis Settlement, Paul First Nation, and Tsuut’ina Nation. Since then, many regions have been added, and in 2024, children in 21 communities benefitted from access to books, arts and crafts, STEM activities, and much more. Unfortunately, some of our plans had to change this year due to intense wildfires. This resulted in camp being replaced by other program types in larger cities such as Edmonton as well as contingency supports in Ontario for those who were moved out of Alberta for their safety.
United for Literacy collaborates with people on the ground to understand the needs and wishes of the community and co-develop specific programs for children in their region. This literacy support in Alberta focuses on and promotes child development. When children spend the summer exploring, learning about their community, making things, and reading together, their brains stay active. This helps children arrive back at school ready to build on what they learned the previous year, with no need for lengthy review and catch-up.
The summer reading program in Alberta is uniquely tailored for each region based on programs that already exist (i.e., camp complements other activities), the capacity of the people, and the goals of each community. These community-led education programs have a strong impact on children in rural areas.
The differences between Pigeon Lake, Ermineskin, and Samson compared with Cadotte Lake or Fort McKay illustrates this diversity.
United for Literacy works closely with Maskwacis Education Schools Commission (MESC) to support the communities of Pigeon Lake, Ermineskin, and Samson. Here, camps are facilitated by dedicated teachers who support the literacy learning of children in the summer months. United for Literacy helps support by supplementing wages as well as overseeing food and transportation needs. This program allows the children to work with people they already know and trust to help with their literacy in the summer months.
The MESC camps differ completely from the program in Cadotte Lake. Here, a local family has been running the program for the last five years. United for Literacy provides wages, food budgets, training, and free educational resources for kids. The program in Cadotte Lake would not be possible without the dedication and support of the Tamarack family who go above and beyond to ensure that there is free summer programming in their community.
In Fort McKay, we partner with the local community centre to deliver literacy programs throughout the summer. This is different from our others because it is drop-in style that complements the well-known and well-attended programming that already exists in the community. United for Literacy provides educational materials, and additional resources to the centre to support the needs of the children.
Studies show that children who read four or more books during the summer do better on comprehension tests than children who read one or no books. During the summer, one-to-three months of reading skills can be lost from children who do not engage in literacy activities. This decline is often referred to as the Summer Slide. By the time children reach Grade 5, those who do not read during the summer can be up to three years behind their peers. This can have a serious effect, impacting children’s confidence, educational goals, and other areas of development. United for Literacy works with communities to encourage children to read and use their skills over the break to reduce the impact of the Summer Slide. Free programs for children help ensure that they are accessible for more Indigenous families.
In Canada there is a large urban-rural literacy gap. This gap isn’t only because of socio-economic factors such as poverty. Researchers have looked at individuals in the same tax bracket and with parents of the same education level: there still was a lower literacy rate in children in rural areas. By increasing access to literacy materials and making learning a year-long, fun, and engaging experience, United for Literacy helps to model lifelong learning and possibilities.
Stronger literacy results in higher employability skills later in life. Equally important, literacy also has a significant effect on health and quality of life. Children that grow up feeling confident in reading and wanting to learn have more opportunities and resilience when times are tough. Summer Literacy Camp helps children get started on a journey that doesn’t end when school is out.
If you are interested in setting up free reading programs for Indigenous Children anywhere in Canada, please email info@unitedforliteracy.ca to connect with your local coordinator. To donate to these vital programs, please visit the United for Literacy website.
Nichole started her journey with United for Literacy (formally Frontier College) in 2012 when she spent the summer working as a camp counsellor for two different fly-in communities in Northern Ontario. She returned to work full time for United for Literacy as the National Indigenous Support Coordinator. Nichole is an advocate for safe environments for Indigenous people to grow and thrive through education, mental health supports, and harm reduction.
As a descendent of the Michel First Nation and having worked with Indigenous youth for over 15 years, Nichole thrives to ensure social change and the creation of programs that are culturally appropriate.
