The latest news from UWNA. View as Webpage

From the desk of:

Liz Archuleta

President & CEO

“Reading Under the Stars is something we hosted years ago when I was a classroom teacher," said Principal Nichole Tow. "It was always a well-loved event that brought our schools and the community together around reading, and we felt it was time to revive that tradition to build excitement for literacy."

In the past year, UWNA has been involved in organizing and participating in multiple literacy fairs as part of our partnership with Read On Arizona and our ongoing commitment to increase early childhood literacy throughout northern Arizona.

According to Read On Arizona, less than half of our state's third graders are proficient readers: only 39% passed the most recent statewide assessment and that proficiency dropped to 27% for economically disadvantaged students.

In addition to literacy fairs, UWNA also continues to promote early childhood education - and spark a love of reading - through programs like the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which provides a free book every month to children from birth to age 5.

Meanwhile, our KinderCamp™ program - which helps prepare students with limited preschool experience so they are academically, socially, and emotionally ready for kindergarten - provides literacy kits to families so they can continue to build a love of reading with their children.

Read On Arizona is working with schools and organizations like UWNA with the hope of raising third-grade reading proficiency rates to 72% by the end of this decade. We think it's an achievable goal - but we can't get there alone.

UWNA is currently holding our annual fundraising campaign. With one click, you can safely and securely support the childhood literacy efforts throughout northern Arizona and ensure a better future for today's kids.