Fighting the Youth Literacy Crisis in America

Originally posted on LinkedIn by Tiffany Dyson 

Impact doesn’t begin and end with capital investment. Sometimes it’s driven by access and opportunity. Sometimes it begins with something as fundamental as the ability to read.

For this edition of Return on Impact, we’re taking a slight detour from finance and heading straight to the nonprofit world for a special feature.

Virginia Lee, MMS, MPH, PCC is the Executive Director of Reading Partners Los Angeles, a literacy intervention nonprofit helping thousands of students develop fundamental reading skills and a love of learning.

I’ve seen their work and success firsthand through time as a tutor and Board Member. I’ve never seen an organization so thoughtfully designed to provide individualized support to students in a way that meets them where they are. It truly proves that extra attention and direction can change our trajectory completely.

My conversation with Virginia was a powerful reminder that literacy is an educational issue and a societal one.

Right now, it’s one that needs our attention.

Why Early Literacy Changes Everything

For Virginia, the path to youth literacy is deeply personal. At its core, her work is about helping individuals live meaningful, purposeful lives (this comes full circle in our ROI section).

“Reading opens up your world,” she shared. “From learning about different people’s lives to having the imagination to dream or to explore.”

Reading is a gateway. But without early access to literacy, those doors begin to close much earlier than we may realize.

Virginia shared a powerful statistic that hits this point home: Students who are reading proficiently by fourth grade are four times (4x!) more likely to graduate high school.

“Fourth grade is that key milestone for our students. That’s that time where they’re successfully transitioning from learning to read to reading to learn.”

If students don’t make this transition successfully, the ripple effects can extend far beyond the classroom.

Literacy influences workforce readiness, civic engagement, and everyday life. It’s about navigating the world with confidence and clarity. In my eyes, reading is akin to seeing.

As Virginia put it, “This is an educational, economic, and societal imperative.”

From “Achievement Gap” to “Opportunity Gap”

When we talk about literacy in the United States, it’s common to use the phrase “achievement gap.” But Virginia offered a reframing that feels more accurate and more urgent: this is an opportunity gap.

Students from economically privileged backgrounds tend to have greater access to books, tutoring, and support systems that reinforce literacy. Oftentimes, they simply hear more words. For others, those resources or “reps” are limited or nonexistent.

What does this look like in real life? Virginia gave us a few examples:

• It’s the child who avoids reading out loud.
• It’s the student who struggles to follow written instructions (and might subsequently be disciplined for it).
• It’s the learner who begins to fall behind in multiple subjects because reading is how we access all learning.

While the organization contributes to a nationwide effort, the Los Angeles region experiences a particularly pronounced literacy challenge. Many students face systemic barriers tied to economic hardship, and without intervention, those gaps compound year after year.

A Model Built on Community

What makes Reading Partners Los Angeles so effective is that it’s more than a tutoring program. It’s a comprehensive, community-powered model.

At its core, it is individualized, high-dosage tutoring grounded in the science of reading. Students receive two structured sessions per week, with instruction tailored to their specific needs through ongoing assessments.

And the model goes further:

• AmeriCorps members serve as the backbone of the program, managing reading centers, coaching volunteers, and ensuring high-quality delivery.
• Community volunteers (over 1,000 in Los Angeles) provide consistent, one-on-one support, forming meaningful relationships with students.
• “Powered by Reading Partners” provides community partners with engaging, high-quality educational materials and extensive training to implement effective literacy tutoring with students.
• Culturally relevant books ensure that students see themselves reflected in what they read, fostering skill development and identity.
• Family engagement extends learning beyond the classroom, helping build sustainable reading habits at home.

The results speak for themselves. In the 2025 school year:

• 84% of students met or exceeded their individualized growth goals
• 89% of early learners developed mastery of foundational reading skills

This is what impact looks like when it’s both human-centered and data-driven.

The Multiplier Effect of Volunteering

One of the most striking insights from our conversation was how transformative the volunteer experience can be. Not just for students, but for the volunteers themselves.

Many come in thinking they’re simply there to help, but it’s about more than reading a book. Volunteers deliver instruction, build social and emotional skills, and watch growth happen in real time.

“A powerful change we see in students is how they start seeing themselves. As they build skills, we see them also build their confidence and motivation. Over time, students begin seeing themselves as readers.”

It is often said that a child needs just one mentor or role model to make a difference in their academic and social development. Reading Partners Los Angeles bakes that person directly into their programming.

An Annual, Recurring Challenge: The Summer Slide

As we approach summer, the urgency of this work becomes even clearer. The “summer slide” refers to the learning loss that occurs when students are out of school.

For students who are already behind and striving to catch up to their peers, summer learning loss can perpetuate a cycle that becomes harder to break each year.

But there is hope. Research shows that reading just five books over the summer helps students maintain all the gains they’ve made during the school year.

The Simple, Impactful Solution: Rise Up for Reading

Reading Partners Los Angeles’ Summer Backpack Campaign, Rise Up for Reading, is built on the beautifully simple concept: give students the tools they need to keep reading outside of the classroom.

Each student receives a backpack filled with five high-quality, grade-level books to take home for the summer.

The impact is profound. These books:

• Help students maintain and build on progress they’ve made
• Create opportunities for families to engage in reading together
• Begin to establish a culture of literacy at home
• Spark imagination, curiosity, and confidence

How You Can Be Part of the Solution

Solving the literacy crisis isn’t something any one organization can do alone. It requires all of us, united by a shared purpose and involved through different capacities.

There are several ways to get involved:

• Volunteer as a tutor in-person or virtually (start with just one hour per week)
• Partner as a company through sponsorships or volunteer programs
• Support the Rise Up for Reading campaign through a donation (we have until the end of May!)

Whether you have time, funding, or advocacy to share, every action helps expand access to this proven, life-changing support.

Return on Impact

I ended our conversation with the question I ask every guest: What is your return on impact?

Virginia’s answer captured the heart of this work: connection, joy, and making a difference.

“I want us to reach our fullest potential. I want us to be in a place that we’re not just kind of surviving day to day, but we’re really thriving, and we’re living a very purposeful, meaningful life.”

Her work with Reading Partners Los Angeles allows her to help students reach their fullest potential. It also allows her to empower her team with leadership development and community engagement opportunities.

For me, the ROI from my work with Reading Partners Los Angeles is the pure joy in seeing something click for the students. Both the act of reading and the confidence that they can do something they previously couldn’t. It proves they can do new things, and they can be more than they think they can.

A Call to Action

As a Board Member, part of my work is to help spread the word about this wonderful program and its lasting effects on our young learners. If this story resonates with you, please consider getting involved with Reading Partners through in-person or virtual volunteering or donating directly to our Summer Backpack campaign!

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About the Author:

Hi, I’m Tiffany Dyson, a financial professional bringing a human-centered lens to capital markets. I’ve spent the past seven years consulting and collaborating with financial professionals and investors. Now as VP of Investor Relations for Uplifting Capital, I help channel private capital toward solutions that drive positive change. In a nutshell, I love building community, learning about people, and spending time in nature.

About the Return on Impact series:

Everything we do with our time, energy, and capital has an impact. ROI: Return on Impact is an ongoing storytelling series and my attempt to activate an impact-centric consciousness around our actions and behaviors. This is one story profiling an individual using their career, philanthropy or volunteerism to drive meaningful change.