The West Oaks Civitan Club launched their annual super summer success literacy program on Monday, June 11 at Gill Elementary.

This year, the program received a generous financial grant from the Farmington/Farmington Hills Foundation for Youth and Families enabling the Civitan group to expand the program and reach many more students.

Research indicates that when students read at least 6 books at an appropriate level, they will avoid “summer reading setback” (falling behind in reading) during the summer months. Students are selected for the Six Books program by their teachers as youth who are beginning to show growth in reading and would benefit from continued summer literacy experiences.

With the assistance of Civitan members, each student selected four books to begin their adventure. Since this year’s theme  is “Ice Cream for BOOKS! READ!”, Civitan members will host an ice cream social at the participating schools in early August so that students may choose two more books to complete their experience.  This will be a family event complete with fun and games sponsored by the Civitans.

The Civitan Club is composed primarily  of both current and retired Farmington teachers dedicated to providing literacy opportunities for youth in the community.  “Literacy is near and dear to our hearts and the West Oaks CivitanClub is proud to provide this literacy opportunity for the seventh straight year. 

We are especially grateful for the Farmington/Farmington Hills Foundation for Youth and Families grant that allowed us to reach many  more students this year.” said Peg Kulas, Civitan president and retired Farmington Public Schools Reading Recovery Teacher.

For information regarding  the Six Books/One Summer Program or for information about the West Oaks Civitan Club contact pegkulas@hotmail.com.