Volunteer reading partners help students in underserved schools catch up on reading proficiency

National Volunteer Week is April 12 - 18. National literacy nonprofit engages thousands of community volunteers and AmeriCorps members to measurably improve student reading proficiency.

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Reading Partners

Apr 09, 2015, 08:15 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., April 9, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Every day around the country, thousands of volunteers from the Reading Partners program head into under-resourced schools to work with students who have fallen behind grade level in reading. These volunteer reading partners do more than simply read to the kids. Following a highly structured, easy-to-follow, research-validated curriculum and committing to a minimum of an hour a week, they are making a measurable impact in raising reading achievement.

AmeriCorps and community volunteers are making a proven, measurable difference in raising reading achievement. Reading Partners works with under-resourced schools around the country, recruiting volunteers from the community to work one-on-one to improve the literacy learning of students who have fallen behind grade level. With the right resources and support, these volunteers are improving reading proficiency, and at a lower cost to schools than other typical literacy interventions.

Reading Partners volunteers range from high school students to two-time cancer survivors like Vivian Freeman-Young in Charleston, SC to Colorado's Deric Pinales, an Iraqi war veteran to Sacramento's Christopher Hall, who saw his student, Jontasia metamorphosize into a reader when he brought caterpillars to their sessions.

Reading Partners is a national nonprofit that engages community volunteers working with AmeriCorps members to raise the literacy skills of elementary school students who are at six months or more behind grade level in reading. Required only to be at least 14 years old, Reading Partners' volunteers need no prior training in literacy instruction. Independent research firm MDRC recently released a gold-standard randomized control trial of the Reading Partners program. One of the largest studies ever to examine volunteer-driven literacy interventions found the program:

Raised reading proficiency
Had statistically significant impacts on reading comprehension, fluency and sight-word reading
Was effective for a wide variety of students
Was delivered with fidelity, especially notable given the diversity of the volunteer pool and the fact that no prior training is required
Multiplies resources for students and schools in need because it engages volunteers to help double the value of cash investments

"There are more than 18 million Americans who volunteer in schools each year," notes Reading Partners CEO Michael Lombardo. "Given the right tools, structure, and support, these volunteers have amazing potential to make a real impact on the nearly 9 million kids who cannot read at grade level."

How does Reading Partners work?

Reading Partners operates in under-resourced elementary schools, placing a full-time staff member on site, typically an AmeriCorps member, to coach and train up to 100 community volunteers. Volunteers commit an hour a week of their time to deliver a highly-structured, modular curriculum in twice-weekly, 45-minute sessions.

Reading Partners has helped tens of thousands of children master the fundamental reading skills they need to succeed in school and beyond. The national nonprofit organization currently engages 15,000 AmeriCorps members and volunteers to work with 8,500 students in 160 schools in 12 metropolitan US cities.

Video - http://youtu.be/QVLGFU8Elo0

SOURCE Reading Partners