猫咪AV

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Sharon Harrington

Executive Director, 猫咪AV Charlotte

704-618-4398 | sharon.harrington@readingpartners.org

CELEBRATING ITS 20TH YEAR OF NATIONWIDE IMPACT, READING PARTNERS UNVEILS OUTSTANDING STUDENT RESULTS IN CHARLOTTE IN 2017-18
The early literacy nonprofit looks for more community tutors in 2018-19

(Charlotte, NC) September 10, 2018

The 2018-19 academic school year marks 猫咪AV鈥� 20th anniversary of bringing community volunteers into schools to provide essential one-on-one literacy tutoring that empowers students to succeed in school and beyond. Over the past two decades, the organization has grown from supporting a handful of students at one school into a national literacy nonprofit supporting more than 11,000 students at 200 schools across the US every year.

鈥淩eading is critical and equitable education needs to be a norm, not a luxury,鈥� said Karine Apollon, CEO, 猫咪AV. “This is a solvable problem and one that 猫咪AV has been successfully tackling for 20 years. Last school year alone, our organization mobilized over 12,000 volunteers in communities across the country to tackle one of the nation鈥檚 greatest issues, one student at a time, and our literacy approach continues to show strong results鈥�

Student results in 2017-18 continued a strong trend for 猫咪AV Charlotte

Every fall, 猫咪AV issues student impact reports for the national organization and for each of its 14 respective regions across the country. The impact reports for the 2017-18 school year have recently been posted on readingpartners.org and include the following highlights.

In the Charlotte region:

288 students were matched with 233 community volunteers at 7 partner schools who delivered more than 8,000 tutoring sessions (an average of 28 tutoring sessions per student over the course of the year).

Among 猫咪AV鈥� youngest students in Charlotte, 93% are developing mastery of key foundational reading skills needed to read at grade level.

Based on survey responses, 100% of principals report improved school-wide reading progress, 98% of teachers report 猫咪AV is valuable to their school and 96% of volunteers were satisfied with their 猫咪AV experience.

Learn more about 猫咪AV鈥� impact in Charlotte here.

Learn about 猫咪AV鈥� 2017-18 national impact here.

鈥淎ll students in North Carolina have the potential to be strong, confident readers,鈥� said Sharon Harrington, Executive Director of 猫咪AV Charlotte. 鈥淩eading proficiency is the critical first step on the path to future educational success and 猫咪AV has a tremendous track record and a proven, curriculum that will make a meaningful and measurable difference for our students in Charlotte.鈥�

A 20-year track record of student and community impact

Only 20 percent of economically disadvantaged students in the US are reading proficiently by fourth grade. For students entering fourth grade, it is essential to have made the switch from 鈥榣earning to read鈥� to 鈥榬eading to learn.鈥� Most subjects, including history, science and math, all require literacy in order to progress. Over the past two decades, 猫咪AV has engaged nearly 55,000 community tutors and over 1,300 AmeriCorps members to provide one-on-one literacy tutoring to more than 50,000 students attending over 350 public schools in nearly 75 school districts across the country. All told, 猫咪AV volunteers have delivered more than 1.5 million tutoring sessions, helping students grow their reading skills and confidence at a critical stage in their education.

More volunteers needed in Charlotte in the 2018-19 school year

There are nearly nine million low-income K-5 students in the US, including thousands in Charlotte, who are not yet reading at grade level. Without developing the literacy skills needed to read at grade level, these children do not have an equitable chance to succeed in school or in life. Each new volunteer that 猫咪AV engages helps more students develop the foundational reading skills needed to power their learning in all other subjects in school.

In the 2018-19 school year, 猫咪AV aims to match 350 community volunteers with 250 struggling readers in Charlotte. By tutoring a student one-on-one for as little as one hour a week, volunteers can make an impact that can quite literally alter the course of a child鈥檚 educational experience and life.

鈥淢y favorite part about tutoring with 猫咪AV is the opportunity to instill confidence and a love of reading in young children,鈥� remarked Carole Winston, a 猫咪AV tutor in Charlotte. 鈥淚 love seeing their faces light up when they sound out a difficult word or grasp a concept for the first time. I love to read and I believe that everyone deserves a chance to truly love reading, too. By helping children gain better reading skills, they’ll be able to experience that joy personally for the rest of their lives.鈥�

The positive student results highlighted in the 2017-18 impact reports are made possible through the generous participation of thousands of community volunteers. To become a volunteer with 猫咪AV, please visit readingpartners.org/volunteer today.

Photos of students and volunteer tutors in a 猫咪AV reading center (Photo Credit: 猫咪AV)

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About 猫咪AV
For 20 years, 猫咪AV has empowered students to succeed in reading and in life by engaging community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring. Since its founding, the national nonprofit organization has mobilized nearly 55,000 community volunteers to provide proven, individualized literacy tutoring to more than 50,000 elementary school students in under-resourced schools across ten states and the District of Columbia. Visit readingpartners.org to learn more about our program impact, or connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.