The SMU Mustangs have been a long-time partner of Coaching for Literacy, partly because of the fact that one of our founders, Jonathan Wilfong, was a walk-on for their basketball team. Jonathan has since graduated and moved on to a professional career, but the Mustangs remain committed to literacy efforts.
Because of funds raised by fans in Dallas through the 2019-2020 #Fight4Literacy Game, Coaching for Literacy was able to provide a grant to Readers 2 Leaders to provide additional learning opportunities for budding readers.
Read on to learn how #Fight4Literacy donations benefitted one second-grader in Dallas and provided opportunity for others. Want to join the Mustangs and their campaign this season? Click here to make a donation today.
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For Jessica and her second-grade daughter, Alexandra, Readers 2 Leaders has become crucial and integral parts of the learning experience, made even more important by the organization’s ability to pivot and thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Jessica worked with Alexandra on homework, she noticed the child struggled to read the directions without help. When Alexandra’s school subsequently invited her to participate in the R2L in-school tutoring program, Jessica was enthusiastic.
Alexandra participating in Readers 2 Leader’s virtual summer camp at home
But the work didn’t end there when the school year did. Many children miss out on the opportunity to continue educational growth during the summer, which spurred R2L organizers to reinvent how it worked during the summer.
Readers 2 Leaders adapted to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic to ensure it could continue helping students beat the summer slide. It created a virtual summer camp through Zoom for 43 children, including Alexandra.
Students received small group tutoring with trained instructors, who also met one-on-one with families to equip parents to continue helping with skill development. This model provided students with eight hours per week of learning and enrichment, and its attendance rate of more than 83 percent correlated with learning growth.
“The most important thing is making sure our students have the literacy resources they need, no matter the challenges,” said R2L President & chief executive officer Norma Nelson. “We were grateful and excited to provide high-quality tutoring in a virtual format so that 43 students could keep gaining literacy skills during the summer months.”
That made a difference for Alexandra. “She needed more help,” said Jessica, who jumped at the chance to keep her daughter progressing during the virtual Summer Camp.
Alexandra was just as excited and attended every session, including optional one-on-one meetings after the official end of the camp, which was the only summer reading support to which the family had access.
“She was so excited, she would log on 15 minutes before the class time to make sure she didn’t miss it,” Jessica said. The parent conferences with Alexandra’s instructor were helpful too.
The investment of Coaching For Literacy and other partners made it possible for R2L to adapt their programs to keep helping kids read. To help more students like Alexandra, please visit readers2leaders.org to learn about current volunteer opportunities and fundraising needs.
