Reading Partners working to add 100 sessions in 10 days

Originally posted on KJRH

Reading Partners Tulsa is launching a new campaign to add 100 sessions in the next 10 days. They want to help even more students start reading on grade level.

“We have a lot of confidence that we can do that, but it’s going to take all of us working really hard especially in this 10 day window to really get that momentum going for the end of the school year,” said Olivia Martin, executive director of Reading Partners Tulsa.

Inside the Reading Partners’ Center at Peters Elementary in the Union Public School District, students are getting help to improve their reading skills.

Each student is paired with a tutor, one-on-one, to help improve their literacy over the course of a school year. Joan Caudle is in her 3rd year volunteering.

“It’s so rewarding and so much fun to interact with the kids,” said Joan Caudle.

With the hour long, ready-made lesson plans given by the organization, Caudle said she’s grateful to get the chance to share her love of reading with students and help them get better at it.

“You’ve got to have that to succeed in whatever you do,” said Caudle.

This week, Reading Partners Tulsa is hoping to add to its nearly 800 volunteers and nearly 700 students. They’ve started a campaign to add 100 sessions in 10 days.

“It’s so important spending these next few years really investing in literacy at a young age because we know that students who learn to read well before fourth grade have a better chance of success in their whole lives,” said Martin.

At their 24 locations across Drexel Academy, Tulsa Public Schools and Union Public Schools, most of their students are about six months to two and half years away from reading on grade level. The push to add more sessions, with more students and tutors, is to make sure these students can have a bright future.

“We are able to support teachers, support principals, support families in being an extra piece of the puzzle to bring the literacy forward,” said Martin.

For Caudle, it’s all about instilling the love of reading into some of our youngest minds.

“It opens up the world to them,” said Caudle. “If you can read, you can do anything.”

If you’d like to volunteer click here.

If you’re already a volunteer and want to add more sessions, or refer a friend visit here.