Reading Partners is a nonprofit literacy organization that works to expand life opportunities for elementary school children by empowering them with strong literacy skills. At Olympic Hills Elementary, Reading Partners has transformed a dedicated space within the school into a reading center. Reading Partners recruits and train community volunteers to tutor students one-on-one for 45 minutes each week using a structured, research-based curriculum.
The Reading Partners program is designed to work with elementary school students whose literacy skills are between 1 month to 2 and a half years below grade-level benchmarks.
Founded in 1999 in the San Francisco Bay Area by three retired teachers, Reading Partners is entering its second year of service in the Seattle area.
In its founding year they served 112 students at Beverly Park and Sanislo Elementary schools in partnership with 167 community volunteers. In the 2015-2016 school year, they have expanded service to 200 students, incorporating Highland Park and Olympic Hills Elementary schools to the programming.
In their founding year, 85 percent of students accelerated in reading and 67 percent were able to make absolute gains in closing their grade-level reading gaps. Teachers also noticed that almost all students in the program increased in their overall confidence.
Sixty percent of fourth graders in Washington State are not reading proficiently. By tutoring for as little as one hour each week, volunteers can make an incredible impact on the life of a child.
For more information please contact Volunteer Coordinator, Sigourney Gundy at sigourney.gundy@readingpartners.org or by phone at (206) 992-4484.
To sign-up today visit: http://readingpartners.org/volunteer/