The Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program (UCAP), a groundbreaking school dedicated to reducing dropout rates in Providence, Central Falls and Cranston, is using a $10,000 grant from Verizon to promote literacy for their students and their parents. UCAP is a unique, independent, public middle school located in Providence that serves 140 at-risk students from Providence, Cranston and Central Falls.
Lillian McGee, Verizon’s Regional Director of Public Affairs, visited participants “This Family Reads!” at UCAP to distribute a round of books and display the book bag participants will receive when they complete the six-week program.
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McGee noted that Verizon is committed to supporting literacy programs. “Technology has revolutionized how we live, learn and work,” said McGee. “To participate in today's knowledge economy, people need a level of literacy and education that is unprecedented in history.”
“This grant is helping transform our school into a gathering place where students and families are improving their literacy skills in English and Spanish language book clubs. With the support of a professional facilitator, they discuss the books they’ve read together in a convivial setting over a shared meal,” said Elisa Almonte, the school’s Beyond School coordinator.
According to Almonte, “Virtually all of our students are at-risk. Getting parents involved with their children’s learning as well as their own is a tremendous boost to our students, especially when it comes to developing the academic and social skills they need to succeed in school," she added.
UCAP is the only public middle school in the country to offer students who have repeated a grade the chance to condense three years of learning into two. Urban children who have been held back a grade are at higher risk of dropping out, according to Rob DeBlois, the school’s founder/director.
DeBlois noted that the core academic program at UCAP is paid for by the three participating school systems, but that the school raises private funds for Beyond School programs that are offered after school, on weekends, during school vacations, and over the summer. “These programs are essential to giving our students an equal playing field from which to succeed in high school” said DeBlois. “The Verizon “This Family Reads!” program falls into that category: engaging the whole family in their child’s success.”
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