Reading Partners New York City kicks off ‘Resolutions for Reading’ to support struggling readers

For Immediate Release

Contact:         

Maris Goodstein

Executive Director, Reading Partners New York City

646.606.2431  |   maris.goodstein@staging.readingpartners.org

READING PARTNERS NEW YORK CITY SEEKS TO INSPIRE ‘RESOLUTIONS FOR READING’ DURING NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH

300 students are ready to be matched with volunteer tutors

New York, NY — January 10, 2018

“Mr. Matt was one of my first [tutors] here and he’s one of the reasons why I like reading now. I appreciate him because he took the time out of his life just to be with me and help me learn, because without him I don’t think I’d be passing the grade. I don’t know much about role models, but I know he gets me. He understands me.” – Student at PS 188

Each year, National Mentoring Month celebrates the power of mentoring relationships and calls for more people to play a supportive role in the lives of children. This January, Reading Partners is sharing stories of mentorship from community volunteers, AmeriCorps members, and staff. The campaign is designed to inspire others to make Resolutions for Reading in the new year by providing students in under-resourced schools with the tutoring and mentorship they need to become proficient readers by the fourth grade.

A proven, national nonprofit that mobilizes community volunteers to work one-on-one with struggling readers, Reading Partners is determined to serve 1,070 students in New York City in the 2017-18 school year. Currently, there are over 300 students at 19 local elementary schools waiting to be matched with tutors. Now is the time for our community to make Resolutions for Readingto ensure that our students have the reading skills and confidence they need to be successful in school and in life.

“Volunteers are the heart and engine of Reading Partners’ program,” said Maris Goodstein, executive director of Reading Partners New York. “Their commitment to mentoring and tutoring students as they acquire the critical literacy skills necessary for success is truly priceless.”

Reading Partners volunteers utilize an easy-to-follow, individualized lesson plan each week in order to meet students at their level and help them make the critical transition from learning to read to reading to learn.

Reading Partners New York City has an immediate need for volunteer tutors who can commit at least an hour a week to work with students in the following schools:

Bronx

• Hyde Leadership Charter School – 730 Bryant Ave., Bronx, NY 10474

• PS 48X Joseph R. Drake School – 1290 Spofford Ave., Bronx, NY 10474

Brooklyn

• PS 7K Abraham Lincoln School – 858 Jamaica Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11208

• PS 54 Samuel C. Barnes School – 195 Sanford St., Brooklyn, NY 11205

• PS 305 Dr. Peter Ray – 344 Monroe St., Brooklyn, NY 11216

• PS K315 The School of the Performing Arts – 2310 Glenwood Rd., Brooklyn, NY 11210

• PS 158 Warwick – 400 Ashford St., Brooklyn, NY 11207

Queens

• PS 40 Q Samuel Huntington School – 10920 Union Hall St., Jamaica, NY 11433

• PS 48 William Wordsworth Elementary School – 108-29 155th St., Queens, NY 11433

• PS 160 Walter Francis Bishop Magnet School of the Arts – 109-59 Inwood St., Jamaica, NY 11435

To learn more about volunteering with Reading Partners, please email volunteerNY@readingpartners.org or call (646) 395-3831.

About Reading Partners

Reading Partners empowers students to succeed in reading and in life by engaging community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring. Since its founding, the national nonprofit organization has provided proven, individualized literacy tutoring to nearly 45,000 elementary school students in under-resourced schools across ten states and the District of Columbia. Visitstaging.readingpartners.org to learn more about our program impact, or connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Recently, Reading Partners was recognized as a Best Practice Honoree during the 2017 Library of Congress Literacy Awards. The 2017 awards program honored 15 organizations for outstanding work in the field of literacy and implementation of best practices in literacy promotion.

Reading Partners volunteer tutors work with their students (photo credits: Reading Partners)