TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: Approve the 2024 Suncoast Summer Reading Challenge Memorandum of Understanding Between the Patterson Foundation and City of North Port, Florida.
Recommended Action
Approve the 2024 Suncoast Summer Reading Challenge Memorandum of Understanding between the Patterson Foundation and City of North Port, Florida.
Background Information
The Suncoast Summer Reading Challenge is a community-wide effort to help all children, especially those from low-income families, succeed in school by ensuring they read on grade level by the third grade. Research indicates that while school is not in session during the summer months, children lose two or more months of reading skills. Through this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Patterson Foundation will provide funding and strategic resources to the City of North Port George Mullen Activity Center (GMAC) Summer Camp to help preserve and strengthen GMAC campers' reading skills. Funding from this program is based on the number of elementary school-age children enrolled in camp and the number of weeks camp is in session.
The Parks & Recreation Department has participated in this program for the past four years. Last summer, 162 campers participated and read over 2,098 grade-level appropriate books within the summer camp session. In total, the City received $7,015 in funding from this program for 2023 and since the program's implementation, the City has received an average of $9,000 annually.
In preparation for this year's camp program, staff attended additional training and will provide a curriculum to summer camp participants that enhances reading skills and delivers reading activities for summer campers.
The 2024 Suncoast Summer Reading Challenge Memorandum of Understanding between the Patterson Foundation and City of North Port, Florida, has been reviewed by the City Attorney and is legally correc...
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