The “Wee” Deliver program, an in-school post office, was started at Elkridge Elementary School in 1994 for second grade students.  The program had been initiated by the U.S. Postal Service in 1991 and was designed to promote literacy among school children.
 
The children write and exchange letters through this in-school post office.  The program supplements their regular reading and writing programs and, at the same time, teaches responsibility.  The second grade children are the “postal employees”.  Every four weeks a different group of children is trained to operate the post office.  In addition to operating the post office, these children take a postal exam, complete job application forms, and write and address letters and postcards to their pen pals.  They hold the postal positions of Postmaster, Letter Carrier, Canceler/Facer, Nixie Clerk or Sorter.  The children in second grade also design stamps.  Selected stamps are reduced to the proper size, copied and applied to all the letters to be mailed and postmarked.

This letter writing program is open to the entire student body and parents.  It has made great progress towards promoting literacy at Elkridge Elementary School over the past twelve years.

 The “Wee” Deliver program has been a significant motivator to encourage children to write more frequently and to teach them the proper format for addressing and composing letters.   Their efforts to prepare letters also have benefited other writing assignments.  Further, the program educates students about “real world ” work experiences and how they can use their writing to influence others.  In the 2005-2006 school year there were over 6000 letters written by students, staff and parents.

In previous years the children have written to Senators in Washington, D.C. to acquire a new zip code for the Elkridge, Maryland community, troops in Bosnia, and children in Germany and in Illinois.  Our students were pen pals with children at George Cromwell Elementary School in Anne Arundel County. They have written to the veterans in the hospitals for Veterans’ Day and Valentine’s Day and to the firefighters after 9-11. The children have been writing to the military in Iraq for a few years.  The military personnel in Iraq, to whom we have written, have a personal connection to our Howard County community. The military men and women have replied telling the students that the letters brought smiles to their faces and lifted their spirits. In return, the children learn many lessons themselves.  The children learn they can make a difference with their letter writing, and at the same time they learn some history. This encourages them to write even more.

Elkridge Elementary School has received The Washington Post Grant in Education and, most recently, The Exxon Grant in Education for this program. The Elkridge PTA also supports the program.

“Wee” Deliver makes learning fun at Elkridge Elementary School. 

If you want to know more about the "Wee" Deliver Program, contact your local Post Office.