Literacy Promise: One year since schools shut down

March 13, 2020 was the last day our team was in schools. As part of AmeriCorps week, members of the Reading Partners team went to tutor students on a sunny Friday to deliver make-up sessions to our students.

A year ago today, March 16, we learned that school buildings would close, and students would shift to distance learning. At the time, we weren’t sure how long this would last. Our traditional, in-person model couldn’t help us serve students at this time. Reading Partners quickly shifted to planning what was next. By the summer, we were piloting a digital tutoring platform at a Minneapolis school. In the fall, we launched our digital programming, Reading Partners Connects, at all of our partner schools.

While this has been the most challenging year many of us have experienced, we have come a long way. On March 12, 2021, our team came together again, masked and socially distanced, to help distribute over 230 books to students at one of our partner schools. This week, nearly 150 students will log on for their one-on-one sessions through Reading Partners Connects. As students return to school and vaccination rates continue to increase, we can envision a return to in-person programming in the future. We see the potential for Reading Partners Connects to allow us to support students in new and innovative ways in a post-COVID world.

Despite this progress, we are going to be dealing with the effects of the pandemic for years to come.

This is why I’m asking you to consider making a monthly contribution by making the Literacy Promise. More than ever, we are going to need to support our students on their reading journeys. Distance learning has impacted each student differently, and Reading Partners’ individualized approach allows us to make sure every student has the resources and support to make literacy progress.

As a nonprofit, we rely on contributions to operate our program. Regular monthly donations allow Reading Partners to plan for the future sustainably, which is crucial for academic growth in our young readers.

Every amount makes a difference. Whether it’s $5 a month or $50 a month, making the Literacy Promise today can provide the consistency we need to continue this work.

Thank you to each and every one of you who make Reading Partners possible in so many ways.

To better years ahead,

Brooke Rivers