I’m an avid reader. There’s no better way to spend an evening, in my opinion, than getting lost in a good book. I was lucky, though; I was read to as a young child. Not all children have that experience, and not all children develop a love of reading. Unfortunately, this has an impact on their future academic success.
Because I recognize the importance of reading well for a child’s future, I volunteered to become a Literacy Partner—a reading buddy—with children who struggle to read, hoping to instill in them a love of books. It was 2019, and I’d recently retired and moved to Texas. I wanted to use my time and my passion for reading to make a positive contribution to my new community.
The first year I was a Literacy Partner (LP) in an elementary school near me didn’t end well. In early 2020, Covid forced the school to shut down suddenly only a few months after I’d met my students. I was assigned two delightful first graders: a shy, cautious young boy who loved the Philadelphia Eagles and football and an outgoing, hug-happy girl who loved dogs and all books about animals. Sadly, I never got to tell them goodbye. However, I was hooked on the mission.
The organization that recruits, trains, and equips Literacy Partners in my area is Education Connection. It’s the project of a non-denominational Christian coalition in Austin, Texas called Christ Together Austin. In 2009, a group of area pastors met with area school superintendents and asked them what their coalition could do to best benefit the children of the surrounding communities. The answer? Help them read well by the end of third grade.
Sixteen years after their inception, Education Connection partners with 18 school districts in the Austin area, including the one in which I live. In the last school year, they trained and supported 1183 Literacy Partners who read with 2833 students, for a total of 43,245 total minutes per week. These data are astounding, and the positive feedback from teachers is overwhelming.
While the Literacy Partner program began through a faith-based consortium, proselytizing with children is strictly forbidden. LPs may be motivated by their faith to volunteer, but they aren’t allowed to express it in the time they spend with the children.
Education Connection was created to meet a critical need through a simple strategy: one LP meets weekly with two students one-on-one, each for fifteen minutes. First, the student reads to the LP, then the LP reads to the student. Fifteen minutes may seem a short amount of time, but sharing those few minutes with a child week after week—just for them—demonstrates your care for them and your interest in their success. It builds confidence along with reading ability.
After the pandemic, I volunteered to be a Literacy Partner Co-coordinator at Voigt Elementary in Round Rock, sharing organizing duties with another volunteer. As coordinators, we act as liaisons between teachers and volunteers and ensure LPs are equipped for their duties. I’ve also read with students at Voigt Elementary in Round Rock since 2021.
I’ve learned to be flexible when working with children in their educational environment. I honor the school’s policies on what books can be read, when children are allowed to leave their classrooms, and how we communicate with staff. Fire drills, field trips, and testing dates are a reality. LPs work closely with administrators, librarians, and teachers to find the best times and places to read with students. Over time, I’ve developed strong relationships with school staff that keeps me going back.
There’s a maxim among educators that “children must first learn to read, then read to learn.” The point at which this maxim reverses is statistically the third grade. Children who can’t read well by the end of third grade are much less likely to graduate from high school. Fortunately, the progress my students make during the year gives them a brighter future.
I’ve read with about a dozen children in first or second grade in the past five years. The way their eyes light up when I come to their classroom door is worth every minute I spend with them. While the stated purpose of our work is to help children read on grade level by the end of third grade, I count it a success if they discover adventures in books that transport them to other times or places.
Every year, I spend the weeks in fall and winter digging through bookshelves in the library to find stories about soccer for one student, the latest Dog Man graphic novel for another, or perhaps a timeless Amelia Bedelia adventure for yet another. We read, we talk about the book or the Halloween costume they plan to wear for trick-or-treating. I let each child know I have faith in their abilities.
Suddenly—or so it seems—right after spring break in March, something phenomenal happens. Each child reads more confidently than they did in September. They read a favorite story all the way through on their own! This realization comes every year, yet I’m somehow surprised. This reward makes the time I’ve spent worthwhile.
Just before the school year ends, we plan a party with all the students and LPs in the school library. After a game or two—and snacks, of course—each student is presented with a “Super Reader Award” certificate and celebrated with applause and high fives. Students are presented a book from their LP to take home with them. For some of them, this will be the only children’s book in their home.
I’m thankful for the opportunity to contribute to a child’s educational career and to help create a good foundation for their future.. I couldn’t do this without the professional training, organizational support, and encouragement offered by Education Connection. They do good work for the children of Central Texas that benefits thousands of children each year and pays dividends throughout their lifetimes.
Janice Airhart 