Read to Succeed awards $76K in scholarships to Providence students

PROVIDENCE – Nearly 80 fourth- and fifth-graders will receive a $1,000 college scholarship, certificate of achievement and a Read to Succeed scholar medal for their successful completion of the 2014 Read to Succeed Summer Program.

Students at three south Providence partner schools will be recognized, Community Preparatory School, Highlander Charter School and Bishop McVinney Elementary School, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week.

The celebration of the students’ achievement will include students, parents, teachers, and Read to Succeed board members and donors. Read to Succeed is the only Rhode Island literacy program to offer a college scholarship incentive in order to improve reading skills over the summer.

According to information from Read to Succeed, this is a “record number of students receiving a $1,000 college scholarship and represents the second year of a bold five-year plan that adds a new grade of students annually until all students at Community Preparatory School, Highlander Charter School and Bishop McVinney Catholic Elementary School are enrolled.”

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Each of the 76 students read six books over the summer from a list provided by their teachers, purchased by Read to Succeed and sponsored by the Providence Rotary Charities Foundation and the Andrade-Faxon Charities for Children Foundation. After passing a comprehension exam for each book, students became eligible for a $1,000 scholarship in their name within the Rhode Island College Bound Fund, the state’s 529B college saving plan.

Since its founding in 2008, Read to Succeed has funded $151,000 in scholarships and distributed more than 700 books.

Students are eligible to enroll for five consecutive summers, adding $1,000 each year to their scholarship account, for a total of $5,000 before they enter high school.

“This investment, with compounding growth, provides a strong financial opportunity toward achieving their college goals,” information on Read To Succeed’s website states.

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