Place Bridge Academy is a Recent Site for Reading Partners: Volunteers Needed!
Place Bridge Academy, a DPS magnet elementary school with a high enrollment of refugee and immigrant students, has recently become a site for Reading Partners - a program that places volunteers in Denver area schools to help children master basic reading skills and narrow achievement gaps.
Both organizations have received Tikkun Olam grant support in the past. There is a need for volunteers to join the program at Place Bridge and we would like to invite you to sign up!
Several B'nai Havurah members have tutored for Reading Partners and others have volunteered at Place Bridge in various capacities in the past.
As a RP volunteer, you would complete four hours of training in two sessions for the current online curriculum (necessitated for pandemic safety) with technological assistance available and the guidance of the site coordinator. You would be paired with a student who qualifies for assistance from grades 3 to 5 for a weekly 45 minute tutoring session, with about 20 minutes of preparation beforehand. The creative and appealing evidence-based curriculum has made a measurable improvement in literacy skills for students. Data has shown that 85% of all RP students met or exceeded their goals in the last academic year. After tutoring, 90% were able to read at grade level. Students also benefit from the one to one relationship with a tutor and the added opportunity to read and discuss a book in an interest area of their own choice.
Miriam Rosenblum, a B'nai Havurah member, says: "In my eight years of volunteering with Reading Partners, I've been fortunate to be able to work one-on-one with so many wonderful young students. The curriculum is well-designed and easy to teach, and it's exciting to watch children become better readers while developing meaningful relationships with them through reading."
Jeanne Pantone, a member who has volunteered for 5 years, states: "I have enjoyed contributing to the educational success of the children I have worked with - seeing them master skills and enjoy becoming more aware of the world around them through reading."
To learn more about the program and volunteer go here: https://readingpartners.org/volunteer-colorado/
To learn more about Place Bridge Academy: http://place.dpsk12.org/
