Reading Partners

An Effective Practice

Description

Reading Partners was founded in 1999 by three Menlo Park community members with the vision that all children will have reading skills needed to reach their full potential.

The program was first lunched in Belle Haven Elementary School in Menlo Park, and now encompasses 15 schools both in the Bay Area and Los Angeles County in California. The budget, which comes from grants and donations stood on $1.9M in 2009.

The Reading Partners program focuses on children from low income backgrounds, who are struggling to read. Teachers from partner schools refer K-6 students, who are struggling with reading, to the program, where they will receive one-on-tutoring. These 45-minute tutoring sessions take place twice a week and are offered by volunteers who follow a structured curriculum, developed by education specialists.

Goal / Mission

Reading Partners mission is to help children become lifelong readers by empowering communities to provide individualized instruction with measurable results.

Results / Accomplishments

On average, students participating in Reading Partners jump an entire grade level in reading skills after only 25 torturing sessions.

Pre and post-assessments showed that participating students progress at a rate of 1.75 years for every year in school. Furthermore, teachers report that the students gain confidence which enables them to participate in class and read aloud.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Reading Partners
Primary Contact
Allison Cohen
106 Linden St. #202, Oakland, CA 94607
5104449800
ALLISON@READINGPARTNERS.ORG
http://www.readingpartners.org/contact-us
Topics
Education / Literacy
Education / School Environment
Economy / Poverty
Organization(s)
Reading Partners
Date of publication
2010
Date of implementation
1999
Geographic Type
Urban
Location
Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino
For more details
Target Audience
Children