Dear Marquette community,
Dwyane Wade and his sister, Tragil Wade-Johnson, are having a profound impact on our campus and in the Milwaukee community thanks to their continued support and passion for the Tragil Wade-Johnson Summer Reading Program.
I had the opportunity to visit with students, Wade Coaches and program administrators earlier this summer for the latest installment of Campus Connections.
The four-week program is designed for students entering 2nd-4th grade and begins with a reading level assessment for each student. Structured literacy instruction that addresses each student’s specific needs is then developed. This summer’s program also included hands-on inquiry science instruction that integrated literacy.
Since the program’s launch in 2015, participating students have maintained or increased their reading level at the end of the four weeks. That’s critical because we know reading is the foundation for every aspect of our lives. And these young people also had the opportunity to learn on a college campus and dream one day that they will be a Marquette Golden Eagle.
It’s not just the children who are benefiting from the program. Aspiring teachers from the College of Education serve as Wade Coaches and are learning to teach by teaching. Nearly 100 former Wade Coaches are now making a difference in their own classrooms.
This significant impact on Milwaukee’s youth and our own students and alumni would not be possible without Dwyane and Tragil. Dwyane often talks about how Marquette has shaped him into the person he is today. I am so grateful that he and Tragil are showing us how to Be The Difference.
We Are Marquette!
President Kimo
