granteespotlight: Reading Partners
Reading Partners, formerly YES Reading, is an early literacy support program operating school-based reading centers at 10 elementary schools in San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco. Founded in 1999, the program helps struggling readers by providing one-on-one, volunteer tutoring during and after the school day. In the 2007-08 school year, Reading Partners recruited a corps of 500 volunteers to serve 472 students. Of these, 80% increased the rate at which they gained reading skills, 64% narrowed their achievement gap, and 21% met or exceeded reading proficiency at grade level. 100% of teachers and principals said that the program had positive impacts for students. Executive Director Michael Lombardo is excited about Reading Partner’s continued growth in San Francisco and beyond.
“We have been able to serve twice as many kids every year. That expresses that we, as an organization, feel urgency about what we do. We looked up the Peninsula – we looked at San Francisco, we looked at San Jose, we looked at Oakland, and we looked eventually at LA – and said ‘these kids all need us,’ and we’re going to do what it takes to get the program to them. I’m very proud of our growth.”