North Carolina's public television station visited Elon University in July to report on the success of an educational program that inspires and assists young children from the local community with learning to read.
“North Carolina Now,” a program produced by public television station UNC-TV in Chapel Hill, featured Elon University’s “It Takes a Village” Project in an August broadcast that shared scenes from a recent visit to campus.
UNC-TV traveled to Elon in late July to film faculty, staff, Elon students and local children involved in the Village Project’s summer camp. The segment, which aired Aug. 18, 2015, included interviews with Associate Professor Jean Rattigan-Rohr, founder of the “It Takes a Village” Project, Elon University President Leo M. Lambert, and parents of the children who take part in the Village.
Started in 2008, the Village Project uses a collaborative approach to help children in the community who are struggling to read. During the fall and spring semesters, children and Elon University students majoring in education are paired for weekly tutoring sessions at the Burlington School. In addition to reading, the initiative has since expanded to science and math.
The summer camp was funded by a gift from the Wells Fargo Foundation and came at no cost to the participating families. Elon University faculty and staff volunteered to teach courses, as did other members of the community, including 50 students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program in the School of Health Sciences.