This summer reading program improves literacy and nurtures an appreciation for the written word. Participants in grades 4th-12th break out into age appropriate classes, engage in written and oral activities, create presentations, journal, participate in debates and holistically build successful reading strategies from start to finish. Books, hand-selected annually by the CLD’s program coordinator, are relevant and engaging.
Indianapolis Youth Development students are encouraged to internalize and adopt the following literacy pledge:
“I understand that the key to freedom is literacy. To be literate, I must read and always learn. Today, I have the freedom to read and learn as much as I want without consequences. In the pursuit of educational excellence, literacy is the key.
So I make this pledge to improve and enhance my literacy skills by reading and learning. By my commitment to literacy, I am also pledging to focus on my education and to secure my rightful place of achievement in life.”
Weekly Sessions Held:
June 3 – July 17, 2025
Excluding July 4th week*
Tuesdays, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Thursdays, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Program Fee: $25*
*Program fees are non-refundable
Program Location:
Center for Leadership Development
2425 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Mandatory Orientation:
Tuesday, May 14, 2025
6:00 – 7:30 PM
Orientation Location:
Center for Leadership Development
2425 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Registration Closes:
Monday, May 13, 2025 at noon
Functional Literacy: learning to read, write, speak and listen
Critical Factors: oral language development, phonological awareness, phonemics, spelling/writing, fluency, creating meaning, narrative and descriptive writing
Content Area Literacy: reading, writing, speaking and listening in order to understand the content
Critical factors: vocabulary acquisition, questioning, text orientation, expository writing, presentation and product creation
Technological Literacy: reading, writing, speaking and listening in multimedia venues to create products and demonstrate learning
Critical factors: questioning authenticity, searching for info, media orientation, production, demystifying direction
Innovative Literacy: reading, writing, speaking and listening to something to solve something complex, invent something unique or produce something innovative
Critical Factors: innovation and creation, lifelong learning orientation, practical and adaptive thinking, influential communication