As summer approaches and UVA students head to graduation or embark for their summer plans, the school year also starts to wind down for the thousands of students in our local community. Last week, several of our civilian employees traveled to Greer Elementary School to celebrate the end of the year with students in our tutoring program.
Since October 2021, University of Virginia Police Department have worked in partnership with the Life Enrichment Center (LEC) to provided tutoring and literacy skills with students in the local community. The program, which pairs and an officer and a 2nd grade student, allows them to work on assignments, fun activities, and help students become more proficient readers. The LEC, a non-profit organization established in 2003, providers literacy tutoring to elementary students from Title 1 schools throughout the Virginia Commonwealth. The goal is to help students with reading proficiency, as students who are reading at or above their grade level by the end of the third grade are four times more likely to graduate from high school.
On Wednesday, May 7th, students and their tutors had a pizza lunch, shared gifts, learned about Officer Lang's UPD motorcycle, and participated in a award ceremony where each student was given several books to enjoy reading over the summer. UPD is looking forward to the next group of students to enter the program this coming October.