Premier Pat Binns presented the first annual Council of the Federation Literacy Award today to Dianne Smith of Charlottetown. The award was created by Canada’s premiers to recognize an individual or organization in each province for their outstanding achievements in literacy.
Dianne Smith is an adult learner who has made great progress in her own learning and has inspired others to do the same. After leaving school in grade nine, her work experience included home care, farming, cleaning, and a variety of entrepreneurial endeavours run solely by her ambition and desire.
At the age of 49, as a single mother, Dianne realized education would be the key to a better life for herself and her two children. With help from volunteer tutors and by attending adult education classes, she received her GED certificate the day before her 50th birthday. Dianne has worked hard to overcome a variety of learning difficulties while holding down a full-time job and caring for her family. She now owns her own licensed community care facility, Smith Lodge. Dianne continues to seek new learning opportunities and encourages others to improve their literacy skills.
Premier Binns presented the award at a meeting of the Rotary Club of Charlottetown where he took part in the announcement of a new PEI Literacy Foundation. The premier commended Rotary club members for their leadership and commitment to improving literacy in the province. “Low literacy levels are taking a heavy toll on Islanders and their families and we must act immediately to build a culture of literacy and learning in our province,” said the premier. “This kind of cultural change can happen only when community leaders get out in front of the issue and become role models for others to follow. It happens when groups like the Rotary Club of Charlottetown say literacy is their priority and they will make change happen.”
Premier Binns outlined some of the ways the provincial government is helping to improve literacy and learning in the province.
During the coming months, the premier will work with the PEI Literacy Alliance to host a Premier’s Literacy Summit and to provide leadership to a provincial literacy strategy. Premier Binns will also launch a new family literacy initiative next month. Through the PEI Reads project, parents of all children in grades one to three will receive a tool kit to help their children learn to read and love reading.
The province will continue to fund adult learning programs like those offered by Holland College to over 1000 Islanders last year. It will also support community programs like Laubach Literacy which connects volunteer tutors with Islanders who want to improve their reading skills.
Early literacy will remain a top priority in Island schools. The Department of Education will continue to work with partners like Rotary and the Literacy Alliance to offer the Summer Tutoring program which helped 650 children with literacy challenges this summer, children who read 7,000 books and borrowed 3,500 more from the library.
Premier Binns presented a donation of $25,000 to the Rotary Club to boost the new literacy foundation.