University of North Carolina Athletics
Educate and Advocate: Promoting Literacy
December 9, 2020 | Women's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Throughout the 2020-21 campaign, the UNC women's basketball team will highlight various causes, dedicating the season to advocating for and bringing awareness to issues that are near and dear to the Tar Heel student-athletes and coaching staff.
UNC travels to Wake Forest on Thursday and to Louisville on Sunday, and the team has dedicated both games to promoting literacy. Literacy not only enriches an individual's life, but it creates opportunities for people to develop skills that will help them provide for themselves and their family, potentially lifting them out of poverty.
Some facts about literacy:
• Only fifty-seven percent of third grade students in North Carolina scored "proficient" in reading during the 2018-2019 school year. In Orange County, that percentage of third graders is 52 percent. (ncchild.org)
• Thirteen percent of adults in Durham County lack basic literacy skills and 16 percent of residents live below the poverty line. There is often a direct correlation between poverty and illiteracy. (ncpolicywatch.com)
• One in five adults in the U.S. struggles to read basic sentences. That's 43 million adults who lack the literary skills to complete tasks that require comparing and contrasting information, paraphrasing, or making basic deductions. (nces.ed.gov)
This week our team read books to local kindergarten classrooms over Zoom and had some fun after story time, singing some of the kids' favorite songs and learning a few new dances.
Some ways you can help:
The following organizations offer opportunities to learn more and to make an impact.
• North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (dpi.nc.gov)
• Coaching For Literacy (coachingforliteracy.org)
• Orange Literacy (orangeliteracy.org)
• Chapel Hill Public Library (chapelhillpubliclibrary.org)
Together we can help increase the literacy rates in our communities and encourage kids to develop a love of reading.
UNC travels to Wake Forest on Thursday and to Louisville on Sunday, and the team has dedicated both games to promoting literacy. Literacy not only enriches an individual's life, but it creates opportunities for people to develop skills that will help them provide for themselves and their family, potentially lifting them out of poverty.
Together we can work to increase the literacy rates in our communities. This is #BiggerThanBasketball
Learn more here ➡️ https://t.co/HO3d3lierv
#EducateAndActivate | #TogetherWeWin pic.twitter.com/rAetlt4Dj9
— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) December 10, 2020
Some facts about literacy:
• Only fifty-seven percent of third grade students in North Carolina scored "proficient" in reading during the 2018-2019 school year. In Orange County, that percentage of third graders is 52 percent. (ncchild.org)
• Thirteen percent of adults in Durham County lack basic literacy skills and 16 percent of residents live below the poverty line. There is often a direct correlation between poverty and illiteracy. (ncpolicywatch.com)
• One in five adults in the U.S. struggles to read basic sentences. That's 43 million adults who lack the literary skills to complete tasks that require comparing and contrasting information, paraphrasing, or making basic deductions. (nces.ed.gov)
This week our team read books to local kindergarten classrooms over Zoom and had some fun after story time, singing some of the kids' favorite songs and learning a few new dances.
Some ways you can help:
- Read out loud with kids and encourage them to read out loud to you.
- Create an environment in which reading is fun.
- Encourage and empower kids to read, talk, sing, write, ask questions and tell stories. All are ways to learn and use new words.
- Donate and volunteer in your community with local literacy programs and public libraries.
The following organizations offer opportunities to learn more and to make an impact.
• North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (dpi.nc.gov)
• Coaching For Literacy (coachingforliteracy.org)
• Orange Literacy (orangeliteracy.org)
• Chapel Hill Public Library (chapelhillpubliclibrary.org)
Together we can help increase the literacy rates in our communities and encourage kids to develop a love of reading.
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