The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer.
One of the joys of being a parent or grandparent is reading with young children – sharing your love of storytelling and introducing them to the world of books.
But you don’t have to be a parent or grandparent to have this wonderful experience. You can volunteer with Reading Seed, a program of local nonprofit Literacy Connects.
Reading Seed pairs volunteer reading coaches with struggling readers for extra one-on-one support. Coaches are trained in the Reading Seed program and methods. Then they’re assigned three children to work with once a week for 30 minutes each. Sessions take place at a local school during the academic year.
This school year, Literacy Connects is looking to serve 1,600 students. To do so, it needs 150 additional volunteer reading coaches.
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Reading Seed serves students in third grade and below, because third grade is when students move from learning to read, to reading to learn. Being able to read at grade level by third grade is a strong predictor of future academic success, including whether or not a student graduates from high school on time.
Are you someone who loves to read, and wants to help a child learn to love reading, too? Are you open to learning and using proven techniques to help students who are struggling readers? Are you patient, flexible and positive? Then Literacy Connects wants to hear from you.
You don’t need a background in teaching to volunteer. You just need to enjoy spending time reading with children.
In a safe and fun learning environment – no pressure – students gain skills and confidence. They learn to look forward to reading, and to pursue their own interests in books.
If a child likes dinosaurs, guess what? They can read all about dinosaurs.
If they like superheroes – or real-life heroes? There are books about them, too!
When children choose their own books to read, they’re indulging their curiosity. That’s part of what makes reading fun. And fun makes a child a lifelong reader, and a lifelong learner.
That’s why, in 2013, I teamed up with the Arizona Daily Star to recruit more volunteers for this program. And that’s why, in 2019, I’m doing it again. We were successful in 2013, but the need for volunteers is ongoing.
Partnerships and volunteers have been central to the education programs I’ve worked on as mayor: Steps to Success with TUSD, knocking on doors to get young people who have dropped out to re-enroll; Community Schools with nonprofit partners Arizona Serve, Higher Ground and many others that provide students and their families with social services; Mentor Tucson Youth with local nonprofits; and more.
Funding education is the state’s responsibility. Tucson’s revenue and expenditures are both so constrained by state law that it would be very difficult for city government to provide much more support for education than it already does. As mayor, however, I still wanted to find ways to help. That has meant partnering with others, applying for grants, and relying on volunteers.
Volunteers and an involved community can, and do, make a difference for our youth. This school year, make a difference by volunteering with Reading Seed.
Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild