Reading Partners is a national service organization that provides volunteer-led one-on-one literacy tutoring to New York City students. Our focus is on supporting students who are several months to two and a half years behind grade level. This year, our students are facing unprecedented challenges with interrupted instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A June 2020 report from McKinsey and Company anticipates that most students will lose an average of 7 months of learning due to COVID-19. This disruption in learning will exacerbate existing opportunity gaps by 15-20% and have lifetime effects on our students’ education opportunities, income, and health.
As a response, Reading Partners is introducing Reading Partners Beyond: a program that has been adjusted to create flexibility with our school partners and better meet our students’ needs. As a component of Reading Partners Beyond, we would like to invite students from Macaulay Honors College to participate in a Virtual Read Aloud. Virtual Read Alouds provide students with a new way to stay engaged in reading, focused time with caring adults, and a different form of learning to read.
What participation looks like:
- Minimum 2-hour volunteer commitment (can be used to fulfill a volunteer requirement)
- Attend a short training for guidance on what the video should look like
- Create a video of yourself reading your chosen book, which will be uploaded through a closed platform and shared only with the families of students we serve.
NOTE: Students are able to use E-Books for the Read-Aloud, so it is not necessary to purchase or check out a book from a library.
If you have any questions about participating, please contact meredith.boeheim@readingpartners.org and christopher.cali@mhc.cuny.edu.
Unfortunately, registration is full. Reading Partners can only work with a limited number of volunteers for this project. If you are interested in learning more about how you can get involved with their organization, check out their website here: https://readingpartners.org/