Reading Allies, a nonprofit organization that aims to help elementary-school students work on their reading skills, opened its volunteer sign-up Aug 9. Focused on first, second and third grades, the organization gives volunteers lesson plans made by specialists to work hands-on with students, offering volunteers a unique opportunity to form connections with the children and make a meaningful impact on their lives.
Clarie Stebbins, co-director of Reading Allies, said that volunteers consist of college students, parents, grandparents and those in the Tuscaloosa community. The program is particularly popular with local college students, with about half the volunteers coming from the University.
“You have every person from every walk of life coming and saying, ‘It’s important to me to invest in our schools and literacy in our community,'” Stebbins said of volunteers. “I think that’s really neat, that it’s not just one section of our community signing up to help everyone. That’s really special.”
The program runs for 10 weeks with two 30-minute sessions per week, and volunteers can sign up as many times as they want.
Reading Allies began as a partnership between The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa Rotary Club and Tuscaloosa City Schools. Stebbins asked the superintendent for 15 of the most struggling readers from Martin Luther King Elementary School to try individualized lessons taught by community volunteers.
“All 15 students we worked with mastered their grade level over the course of that year,” Stebbins said.
The organization has continued those positive results, with many students doubling their test scores and over 80% of the once-struggling readers meeting state requirements each year and moving on to the next grade level.
Stebbins explained how the children have expressed their enjoyment of the program, saying the volunteers didn’t initially expect to be making such a difference in the lives of the students.
“We have students all the time that just form these really fantastic bonds with their teachers,” Stebbins said. “They invite their teachers to come see their school plays. They invite them to come to their program.”
Stebbins said that volunteers do not need to have a background in education and that the organization provides the training and resources.
“Some students don’t like to be pulled out of classrooms,” said Lucille Prewitt, the principal of Oakdale Elementary School. “But once they got attached to that reading partner, it was hard for them not to be pulled.”
Prewitt also spoke about how volunteering with Reading Allies can be rewarding.
“It’ll warm your heart,” Prewitt said. “You’re helping students read and reach their full potential.”
