Volunteer Appreciation Lunches

We can’t wait to celebrate with you next week! 🎉 If you’re joining us, here’s a quick reminder of the details below—we’re so excited to see you there. If you can’t make it this time, we’ll miss you and hope to celebrate together soon!

Thursday, April 9 | 12:30 PM

Dorchester Brewing Co., Boston

Parking info



Friday, April 10 | 1:00 PM

Jack’s Abby, Framingham



School Calendar Notices

April Vacation: 4/20-4/24- no sessions

Boston Public School Calendar

Chelsea Public School Calendar

Framingham Public School Calendar

Your Safety: Our volunteer safety is very important to us, which we are particularly mindful of this time of year. If you feel unsafe traveling to a site due to weather, conditions, parking, etc., please notify your site team leader and / or program staff when you are not be able to be at site. We want you to be safe and NOT brave dangers to get to your site.

Literations follows Boston, Framingham, and Chelsea Public School closures during inclement weather. Please review our Snow Policy for details on program closures, event cancellations, and weather-related communications.

Upcoming Events

 National Volunteer Month Conversation

• Join AARP for a for a fireside chat with author Ken Stern on his book Healthy to 100: How Strong Social Ties Lead to Longer Lives. The event will be held virtually on April 8 from 3-4 p.m. and there is no cost to attend.
• Register Here

Lighting the Spark — Wednesday April 15 | 5:30pm

• We warmly invite our volunteer literacy coaches to join us at our annual celebration of Literations’ impact. You can purchase half-price tickets below and enjoy a meaningful evening honoring the students and communities you help uplift.
• Buy tickets here

Upcoming Workshop: Relationship Building at the End of Year

• Experience Corps is hosting a final workshop on April 15 at 4 PM focused on closing out the year with strong, intentional relationships. If you’re not attending Lighting the Spark that day, this is a great alternative to join!
• Register here



Hub Timesheet Refresher and Q&A - Wednesday, April 22 | 11am

• Need a reminder on how to submit your timesheets for STL approval? Please join us for a timesheet refresher session with a Hub expert.
• Register here

Boston Marathon

Literations is hitting the pavement at the Boston Marathon this year! We’ve got five amazing runners—including our own Andy Smith from Stapleton—running to raise money and awareness for our students, and we’d love for our volunteer community to be part of the excitement.

We’re hosting two fun ways to show your support:



• 🎨 Marathon Poster Party: Wednesday, April 8 at 12 PM

Join us at the Literations office to make colorful posters and cheer signs for our runners. We’ll provide the supplies—you bring the creativity and enthusiasm!

• 📣 Marathon Cheer Squad: Monday, April 20 (time and location TBD)

Come out along the marathon route and help us create a loud, proud Literations cheering section. It’s a great chance to celebrate our runners and show the power of the Literations community.

Sign up for both here.

Celebrate Arab American History Month

April is Arab American Heritage Month—a time to celebrate and learn from the rich cultures, histories, and contributions of Arab Americans. This page includes resources like book and media recommendations, classroom activities, and background information to help you explore and engage in meaningful ways. Take a look here!

Coaching Quick Tips

How do you leverage a student’s “sweet spot” for learning?

Educators aim to work within a student’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) - the space just beyond what a student can do independently while still being achievable with guidance. Tasks that are too easy lead to no growth, while tasks that are too difficult cause frustration. The new afterschool club pilot (AES) refers to this as "productive struggle". You as a literacy coach can apply this concept during sessions.

Observe what your student can do easily, then adjust tasks to provide the right level of challenge. For example, if a student can repeat a short sentence during echo reading without looking at the text, it’s too easy - use a longer portion of text, perhaps several sentences, that requires more effort. Conversely, if a task is too difficult even with support, simplify it or backup to an earlier skill.

Keep in mind that difficulty level can fluctuate within the same book. Continuously adjusting the level of challenge - across and within sessions - is key. This helps students stretch their abilities, build persistence, and experience success with guided effort.