Urgent need for tutor volunteers for Lowcountry elementary students

Originally posted on Live 5 News

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – As the new year unfolds, one local nonprofit organization is issuing an urgent call to action to the community.

With the goal of serving more than 600 students this year, Reading Partners South Carolina is currently in need of volunteer tutors to join their efforts in providing one-on-one instruction for elementary school students who are not reading at grade level. Reading Partners South Carolina has been able to match up volunteer tutors with 400 students but there are still 245 kids awaiting a mentor to guide them through their reading journeys.

Students who are enrolled in Reading Partners are anywhere from one month to two and a half years behind their reading levels. It’s a gap the organization is working to close.

“I was so stressed. I was like we’ve got to take care of this. But we got it under control and now she’s reading me bedtime stories,” Katie Graziano, whose daughter was enrolled in Reading Partners for two years, said.

Students typically are learning to read and honing their literacy skills up until third grade. After that, they’re reading to learn. A reason it’s so important to keep them on track.

“Reading is the key to the rest of knowledge,” Graziano said. “Once Sophia was able to read and understand – everything else, every other subject she excelled in too.”

Reading Partners offers flexible opportunities for both in-person and virtual tutoring. The commitment is just a minimum of an hour a week and no prior teaching is necessary. For those who might be nervous about the teaching aspect of the program, each lesson lays out exactly what you need to do.

Opportunities are available in Berkeley and Charleston counties with an urgent need for tutors at Oakland Elementary in West Ashley (in-person and virtual), Green Charter Lowcountry in North Charleston (in-person), Midland Park Primary in North Charleston (in person) and Lambs Elementary in North Charleston (in-person and virtual).

For more information or to sign up, click here.

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