Reading Partners:
Creating Caring
Communities
Riki Berglin, Jennifer Corry,
Megan Denny, and Sarah Osborn
Our Group
• Riki: “No Child Left Behind: A
Fragmented Good Intention”, Earth
Science, San Leandro
• Jennifer: “The Effects of Welfare and
Living”, Sociology, San Pablo
• Megan: "Education for One, Education
for All”, Performing Arts, San Francisco
• Sarah: “Fueling Our Youth: Healthy,
Hunger Free Kids Act” Montessori
Education, San Pablo
Reading Partners:
A brief history
• Founded in 1999 by Mary Wright Shaw, Molly McCrory,
and Jean Bacigalupi in Menlo Park, CA.
• The founders created a nonprofit “one-on-one tutorial
program” to help improve literacy rates of
underachieving students in low income areas. The
schools Reading Partners serves are labeled “Title 1”
schools.
• Used volunteers from local communities as tutors.
• Reading Partners is now a national organization and has
locations in California, New York, Dallas, Baltimore,
Colorado, Tulsa, Charleston, and Washington, DC.
• 7,000 students are enrolled with Reading Partners.
Reading Partners:
Mission and Vision
• Mission: “Our mission is to help children
become lifelong readers by empowering
communities to provide individualized
instruction with measurable results.”
• Vision: “We envision a future where all
children in this nation have the reading
skills they need to reach their full
potential.”
Our Assignment
• One-hour tutorial session with a student once a week at our
assigned elementary school.
• Read a book with our
student and fill out a
double-sided worksheet.
• Progress sheet to
keep track of students
weekly progress.
Our Mission:
Pamphlets for Change
• Creating pamphlets to send home with
students that promote parent-child reading
activities.
• Our pamphlets provide fun and creative
ways to engage students in these
activities.
• These pamphlets will further the mission of
reading partners and continue to improve
student literacy rates.
LCS 124: Senior Capstone 1:
Democracy and Active
Citizenship Learning Objectives
1) Students will demonstrate a growing commitment to
active participation in our democratic society.
2) Students will be able to articulate their thoughtful beliefs
and attitudes about ethnic, racial social-class and
gender inequalities manifested in our society.
3) Students will develop public speaking and
communication skills (including computer skills and the
use of electronic media) to exhibit their research and
ideas, in class and in a public presentation.
Students will develop public speaking and communication skills (including
computer skills and the use of electronic media) to exhibit their research and
ideas, in class and in a public presentation.
(Side One)
(Side Two)
Tutors can use specific strategies to improve their reading comprehension
skills.
(Side One)
(Side Two)
Teaching strategies and games for tutors to use help their students
develop phonic skills.
(Side One)
(Side Two)
Games parents can use with their children at home.
(Side One)
(Side Two)
Our Objective:
Practice makes perfect!
• By creating these pamphlets, we hope to give
students additional reading and writing
practice at home that they can do with their
parents.
• Fostering parental support for students is a
primary concern for our group. Students in
Title 1 communities need support from their
parents to reinforce what they learn in school
and with Reading Partners.
Students will demonstrate a growing
commitment to active participation in
our democratic society.
Over 240 hours of community service done in the past four
years between the four of.
.
Students will be able to articulate their
thoughtful beliefs and attitudes about ethnic,
racial social-class and gender inequalities
manifested in our society.
Riverside Elementary 2012
What is Democracy?
• “Thus democracy depends on the wide
dispersion of power so that each citizen has
both a vote and a voice.”
•
(14, Lappé, “The Straightjacket of Thin Democracy”)
Democracy Gap
• Ralph Nader: “ ‘This control by the
corporate government over our political
government is creating a widening
democracy gap. Active Citizens are left
shouting their concerns over a deep
chasm between them and their
government.’”
•
(2, Grover, Peschek,“Why a Critical Reader?”)
What is the Democracy Gap?
• Disparity between the increasing power of
the government and the waning power of
the people.
• The government’s policies do not
necessarily address the wants and needs
of the American people.
RP Closing the Gap
• A major gap in the government’s
educational system
• Reading Partners in Title One Schools
• Public, Private, and Non-Profit
Sectors
• Individualized instruction to students
who are behind in their reading.
What is Social Mobility?
• Social mobility is the movement of
individuals or groups in social standing
and social position.
Original vs. New Proposal
• Our original idea to work was to create a
pamphlet more focused on At Home activities
and what the students can do outside of
Reading Partners.
• New proposal: strategies volunteers can use
for developing reading and comprehension
skills. Meeting the needs of both beginning
readers and comprehension learners, as well
as resources for students within Reading
Partners.
Recommendations
• Through Reading Partners:
• We are providing helpful strategies for new
volunteers, as well as students, to support
positive outcomes of social mobility in
education.
Our Plan
• Our future vision for reading partners is to
help them grow their program in the way
they feel is most useful.
Democracy and Active
Citizenship
• Culturally
• Socially
• Economically
As future educators, working with Reading
Partners has given us valuable insight on
how we can address this democracy gap
in our own future classrooms.