The Official Newsletter of Read to a Child |
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Dive into Summer with Read to a Child! |
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Read to a Child had a busy summer connecting with our students at home. Since schools closed their doors in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, over 500 volunteer reading mentors from all five of our regions have sent us video messages to pass along to their reading buddies.
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In Greater Los Angeles, graduates from the Read Aloud Mentoring Program received customized graduation certificates to recognize their extraordinary accomplishments. Click below to read more about our recent story featuring Read Aloud Mentoring Program graduate, Jade!
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This summer, our Greater Boston and Miami regions launched a pilot project for students in our Read Aloud Mentoring Program to receive customized read aloud videos from their 'reading buddy' who most haven't seen since March!
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In Greater Hartford, volunteers came together and purchased 125 celebrated, diverse, and culturally representative books to serve as prizes for Hartford students participating in the Hartford Public Schools Superintendent's Reading Challenge. Click the button below to read more about our amazing Greater Hartford volunteers and their commitment to Hartford students!
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Remote Read Aloud Program
Bringing the Read Aloud Experience to Your Home
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Read Alouds from Bestselling Authors |
Read to a Child had the pleasure of hosting two acclaimed authors for readings from their bestselling books. Mary Pope Osborne, New York Times bestselling author of the beloved Magic Tree House series, joined Read to a Child CEO to read aloud from her latest addition to the series, Late Lunch with Llamas (for the very first time!). Mary then answered some fantastic questions from students from our wonderful partner, Hartford Public Schools. She even explained how she came up with the idea for the Magic Tree House series!
R.J. Palacio joined us to read aloud from her #1 New York Times bestselling children's book, Wonder, and answer student questions from our partner schools, Esperanza Elementary in Los Angeles and Madeline English School in Everett, MA.
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Click below to view both videos in our
Remote Read Aloud Library!
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Motown Music Legend Claudette Robinson and Activist Jamia Wilson Read Aloud to Metro Detroit Students |
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In July, Read to a Child Metro Detroit had the pleasure of hosting music legend and 'First Lady of Motown,' Claudette Robinson, to our Remote Read Aloud Program. Ms. Robinson joined us live via Zoom to read her children's book, Claudette's Miraculous Motown Adventure, and held a lively discussion with a group of students from our wonderful partner school, Detroit Leadership Academy. Ms. Robinson discussed the importance of Motown to the history of Detroit and how Detroit's children can carry on that legacy - among many other special moments.
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Earlier this month, feminist activist and author, Jamia Wilson, joined Read to a Child and 30 incredible students from Detroit's Center for Success to read aloud from her children's book Young, Gifted, and Black: Meet 52 Black Heroes from Past and Present. Ms. Wilson read inspiring biographies from icons, such as Detroit music legend, Stevie Wonder, and NASA astronaut, Mae Jemison (in honor of the 2020 Mars space launch). Wilson also answered questions from the students about what inspired her to write her book and tackled important topics, such as Black representation in children's literature. The full read aloud and Q&A with Jamia Wilson is coming soon to our Remote Read Aloud Library. Stay tuned!
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STEM-Focused Read Aloud with Greater Los Angeles Students |
Our Greater Los Angeles Region hosted a live read aloud via Zoom with 4th grade students from their extraordinary partner school in downtown L.A., Esperanza Elementary, featuring guest reader Tracy Drain. Tracy is a Systems Engineer working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and she read aloud from Margot Lee Shetterly's children's book Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race. Tracy and the students enjoyed discussing the book and Tracy's work on real space missions!
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Fall 2020 Program Update: An On-RAMP to Success! |
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Beginning this school year, our signature literacy and mentoring program, the Lunchtime Reading Program, will exist with a brand new name. The Read Aloud Mentoring Program (RAMP) will retain its key components of weekly one-on-one read aloud sessions between an adult volunteer and an elementary-age student, but we are expanding the possibilities for the program beyond lunchtime to flexibly accommodate our schools' 'new normal'. We are also emphasizing one of the most important aspects of our mission: mentorship. We are working with school districts across the country to determine the best ways to connect volunteers with their reading buddies in the manner befitting each school. Click below below to learn more about our re-invigorated Read Aloud Mentoring Program and stay tuned for more information and next steps in your region.
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Read to a Child's Commitment to Racial Justice and Equity |
Like so many in these times, Read to a Child is inspired to continuously improve our support of racial justice and equity for all. One of the many ways we hope to demonstrate this commitment is to provide our community with a list of helpful resources to reference on our website.
Stay tuned for more news about other action steps we will be taking to emphasize the themes of equity and racial justice in the fabric of our work to empower children through literacy and mentoring.
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Read to a Child Presents: Together is Better - A Virtual National Gala
Thursday, November 19, 2020
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For seventeen years, Read to a Child supporters have come together annually for our National Read to a Child Gala and have enjoyed an inspiring and fun-filled evening in support of our Read Aloud Mentoring Program.
This year, we have made the decision to bring our annual gala virtual for the first time ever! This virtual event experience will be truly national in scope, with all of our regions participating, proving that despite extraordinary circumstances, we truly are better together!!
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We will be sharing more information very soon, but mark your calendars now, because you do not want to miss out on this evening of inspiration!
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National Read to a Child Day
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Celebrate with us - mark your calendars now and stay tuned for more about our second annual National Read to a Child Day!
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We are incredibly grateful to our key partners who continue to show up for Read to a Child!
Our Greater Los Angeles Region would like to specifically recognize long-standing corporate partner Alston & Bird, whose West Coast offices chose their region to participate in their 2020 Pro Bono Innovation & Impact Challenge! They competed with other office teams and their selected nonprofits from across the country, and we tied for second place!
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A Fantastic Virtual Trivia Night to Support Greater Boston!
Earlier this month, Read to a Child Greater Boston hosted 116 supporters for the first ever Virtual Team Trivia Night! Seventeen teams competed in a fun-filled evening of trivia while raising money in support of Greater Boston's Read Aloud Mentoring Program.
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Altogether we raised over $16,000!!!
Congratulations to Agero's 'The Salty Crew' for winning the competition and a huge thank you to everyone who came out in support of Greater Boston's Read Aloud Mentoring Program.
We'd like to extend special recognition to incredible event sponsors Agero, Arent Fox, Eaton Vance, the Tarini Family, and RSM for making this virtual experience possible.
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A Warm Welcome to our Newest Read to a Child Regional Board Members! |
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In May, Read to a Child Greater Hartford welcomed Daisy Torres to its regional board. Ms. Torres is the Director of English Learner Services, World & Dual Language Programs at Hartford Public Schools, as well as the author of a Spanish/English bilingual children's book, I'll See You on the Bridge. A veteran educator and literacy champion, Ms. Torres brings critically important perspectives on ways to serve Hartford students.
Read to a Child Metro Detroit is excited to welcome its newest regional board member, Rhonda Welsh. As Executive Director of the Detroit Center for Central Michigan University, Ms. Welsh has a strong commitment to the Detroit area and a solid appreciation for the power of literacy.
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Our Greater Los Angeles Region is excited to have Bailey Masullo from Capital Group (and volunteer reading mentor for over 4 years!) join its regional board. Bailey also chairs the Associate Board for KIPP SoCal Schools and serves on the Leadership Council for Children Now.
This summer, long-standing National board member, Ruth Bramson, retired from the board. We thank Ms. Bramson for her years of service in our mission to foster a love of reading and empower students.
We are grateful to all our new regional board members for their commitment to Read to a Child and students across their regions. Welcome to the Read to a Child family!
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