Nonprofit tackles summer literacy slide with volunteer tutors in Charleston

Originally posted on Live 5 News

As summer winds down and the new school year approaches, Lowcountry academic organizations are stepping up efforts to prevent reading decline among students.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – As summer winds down and the new school year approaches, Lowcountry academic organizations are stepping up efforts to prevent reading decline among elementary school students.

Reading Partners, a nonprofit focused on literacy development, is working with students across Charleston to bridge the summer reading gap by offering one-on-one tutoring with community volunteers.

Three reading centers located at the Arthur W. Christopher Community Center, Goodwin Elementary and St. Julian Divine Community Center, have been providing tutoring sessions to first through fourth graders throughout the summer.

Students in the program meet with tutors twice a week and get to take home a new book each week from the organization’s free library. Over the summer, Reading Partners has served just over 100 students, down from nearly 600 during the last school year.

Danielle Daniels, Reading Partners’ community engagement director, says personalized lesson plans help students maintain their reading skills while keeping things more engaging during the summer.

“[We prioritize] mastery over completion. So, making sure that that student identifies their challenges with us, we kind of draft a plan or tweak our curriculum to fit their challenges. And sometimes you have to do the same lesson multiple times. I’m just empowering that student to know, ‘we will get you there,’” Daniels says.

To help close the literacy gap, the nonprofit has expanded its offerings to include virtual tutoring, enabling volunteers from across the country to connect with students in Charleston.

Daniels says the extra work they put in pays off for students.

“You definitely see an increase in confidence because they are not putting books down. They’re not sitting in the house during summer not learning. Reading Partners is able to fund constructive and engaging materials to keep them moving and keep them reading over the summer. So, when they go back to school, they have more confidence and they’re kind of ahead of the game because they kept reading through the summer,” Daniels says.

While the organization continues to serve students outside of the traditional classroom setting, leaders say finding enough volunteers during the summer months has proven to be a challenge.

Currently, the organization has around 250 active volunteers in the Lowcountry, with more than 400 expected to return in the fall. Still, Daniels says there’s room for more.

Reading Partners’ summer programs run through the end of this month. The organization is also preparing for volunteer recruitment in the upcoming school year, when it will partner with six area schools to continue delivering literacy support.

For those interested in volunteering or learning more about the program, visit this link or contact the Charleston chapter.