“Education is itself a conversation.”
-Jason Reynolds, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature (2020-2022).
2023-2024
We are expecting to have three school sites for the 2023-2024 school year: Stedman Elementary School, William (Bill) Roberts K-8 School, and St. Elizabeth’s School.
1. Stedman Elementary, located at 2940 Dexter Street, Denver Colorado, will have a hybrid reading volunteer program (both remote and in-person) on Friday mornings with second grade students. The times are 9:30 to 10:30. Books and ongoing training will be provided.
As of December 2023, we are introducing a READ-TO-YOU program for Stedman Kindergarteners. The day will be Friday and the time will be 9:30 to 10:45. We are asking each volunteer to read to two students, but one-at-a-time sequentially. Books and ongoing training will be provided.
2. William (Bill) Roberts K-8 School is located at the Southwest corner of the Central Park and Montview. Its address is 2100 N. Akron Way, Denver Colorado. Since 2017, Partners in Literacy Reading Volunteers have read with students in the Bill Roberts middle school. This year we will be reading with 8th graders in three forty-minute sessions between 9:15 and noon on Wednesdays.
3. St. Elizabeth’s School is located at 1800 Pontiac on what was formerly the Johnson and Wales campus. St. Elizabeth’s is an outstanding intentionally inclusive educational environment that has a commitment to the development of your child’s academic, social, spiritual, and artistic promise. St. Elizabeth’s already has an outstanding culture of reading. Since 2020, Partners in Literacy reading volunteers have fit right in. In 2023-2024, we are reading with the class of second grade students from 1:15 to 1:55 and with third grade students from 2:05 to 2:50.
“My virtual teaching experience with my student Quinn exceeded all my expectations. What a bright, talented young man. It was my privilege to be able to assist him in his learning at Stedman.” -Jerry Mahan
THANK YOU NOTES FROM OUR STUDENTS
LOVE NOTES FROM OUR VOLUNTEERS
“It is so nice to connect with someone over a book.”
– Nirvana Bhatia
“I have now experienced what teachers hope for and become teachers for. These two boys have become readers”
– Patrick Caldwell
“I have been a reading volunteer for eight years. While most of the years I’ve read with a child in the elementary grades, I ‘ve also read with middle schoolers for three years. There are many reasons why I love reading with these students. It’s such a unique opportunity to get to know a group of kids through reading. Because there are only a few of us, were able to have rich, deep discussion about our books and our discussions often lead to situations in the real world.”
– Shere Dayney
“The Reading Buddy Program has the potential to change the world one reading buddy pair at a time.”
– Kathy Bruce
“Thanks for all you do for Denver’s children and its retirees. We all benefit from reading together.”
– Sally Ortiz
Past Reading Volunteer Programs
The Odyssey School, 2011-2019. Partners in Literacy maintained over 130 volunteer-student book groups in grades K-8 per year.
Roots Elementary School, 2016-2019. Partners in Literacy maintained book groups in grades k-4th grade.
Pioneer Middle School, 2015-2016. Partners in Literacy blanketed two 8th grade classes with reading volunteers.
Wyatt Academy Middle School, 2016-2017: Partners in Literacy Reading Volunteers shared reading with two classes of sixth grade students. We were strongly committed to continue at Wyatt in the next year. Scheduling difficulties made our continuation impossible.
Venture Prep Middle School, 2011-2015: We accompanied 35 Venture Prep students on their reading path from 6th grade to 8th grade graduation. As seventh graders, fifty percent were at third grade reading level or lower. Two students could name an on-level favorite book. At graduation, the median reading level for all students was at a 8th grade level with one outlier. They had read over 200 good books with their volunteers . Their principal said that they were the class the most prepared for high school of any class he had ever seen.
