Program Profile: The Reading Partners Program

You know September means back to school for kids and teachers, but did you know it means the same for some of MVES’ volunteers? We are heading back to the classroom this month in September’s Program Profile—our reoccurring Beacon column that provides a basic description of an MVES program or service. We’re featuring the Reading Partners Program.

Reading Partner volunteers help children in kindergarten through grade three who need extra help with their reading skills. Teachers select the students who will participate in the program—those who’ve been assessed as reading below grade level—and help to determine tutoring activities for the volunteers. The volunteers dedicate four hours a week to the program, meeting one-on-one with students. The volunteers’ extra attention and demonstrated love of reading help to improve the students’ reading skills and their overall confidence as readers.

Currently, MVES’ Reading Partners Program operates in 13 elementary schools (opens new window) in three communities—Everett, Malden, and Waltham. In the 2008 – 2009 school year, 193 students benefited from the individualized attention of 46 Reading Partner volunteers.

MVES’ Literacy Program Coordinator, Ken Neal, oversees the Reading Partners Program. He is responsible for recruiting, training, and supervising the volunteers. He holds meetings for the volunteers, publishes a newsletter, regularly visits the schools, and serves as a resource for everyone involved in the program.

“We’re lucky to have so many great volunteers who bring their own love of reading to the tutoring sessions,” said Neal. “The students, many of whom are reluctant readers in a group, thrive in the smaller, less threatening, one-on-one environment.”

Teachers assess the students at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year to evaluate reading attitudes, behaviors, and skills. By the end of last school year, 87 percent of the students in the Reading Partners Program had improved in three or more academic areas that the teachers evaluated.

MVES asks for feedback from the teachers and volunteers who participate in the program. The teachers communicate that the children really look forward to the volunteers’ visits to the classroom. Their students’ reading skills are improving and confidence is boosted. The volunteers express that, in addition to the children benefiting, they themselves benefit from the experience too, and that they value the time that they spend helping the students read. Read comments from teachers (opens new window) and volunteers (opens new window) provided at the end of the school year.

For more information about the program or if you’re interested in becoming a Reading Partners volunteer, please call MVES’ Literacy Program Coordinator Ken Neal at 781-324-7705.