Books are a new frontier of wonder, discovery and hope in seven-year-old Javion’s story.
Like many of his classmates, Javion struggled with reading, a sure sign of difficulty ahead.
Third graders who fall behind in reading often spend the remainder of their school years catching up, if they do at all, said Michael Singleton, a volunteer with Reading Partners.
Third-grade reading levels are a critical tipping point for future student success and are an increasing focus of schools.
Reading Partners, a United Way partner agency, works to enhance reading skills of students through its corps of volunteers.
“Javion and I meet every week to read, review spelling and grammar, and discuss ideas presented through books,” Michael says.
Michael is Javion’s mentor through Reading Partners. By trade, he is a computer instructor and student mentor/adviser at Tulsa Community College.
“When you help to improve other people lives, that feeling of giving and being selfless is priceless,” Michael says.
Javion’s story continues as he’s leading his class in the number of books he takes home to read, and the number of book reports submitted to his teacher.
“I really like to read,” Javion says. “Michael has helped me a lot.”
ABOUT READING PARTNERS
Reading Partners is a national nonprofit that mobilizes communities to provide students with the proven, individualized reading support they need to read at grade level by fourth grade.
We know that reading is the foundation for all future learning. The ability to read transforms lives and empowers children and communities to reach their full potential. Research shows that students who read at grade level by fourth grade have a greater opportunity to succeed in school and beyond.
That’s why we partner with under-resourced schools and engage volunteer reading partners to work one-on-one with students who struggle with reading. Our volunteers provide hour-long tutoring sessions to students— following a structured, evidence-based curriculum developed with an expert team of curriculum advisors.
Our program model works and is backed by evidence-based research which proves that our students make significant gains in reading.