Wonder of Reading

Once library renovation is complete, we replace worn and outdated books with $10,000 worth of current, culturally relevant new books. The new library bookshelves are typically restocked prior to each school’s Library Grand Opening celebration. For schools whose libraries are two years old or more, we also offer an ongoing restock initiative that allows them to annually apply for Literacy Grants to replace aging books and keep collections current. In 2008, ten new partner schools expanded their book collections with approximately $100,000 worth of new books, and WoR awarded $96,000 worth of Literacy Grants to existing partners.

Over the lifetime of our partnership, Wonder of Reading provides each of our schools with long-lasting, comprehensive literacy programming.  In an effort to help overburdened teachers with their most at-risk students, we provide ongoing screening and training of community volunteers for our one-on-one Volunteer Reading Program. Students selected by teachers to participate in this program are generally one or two years behind in grade-level reading and would benefit from the encouragement of a mentor. Our volunteers participate in a mandatory three-hour training session that is student-centered and teaches reading comprehension strategies and techniques. They usually commit to reading with a student for an hour a week or every other week, for an entire school year, though many have developed relationships with their student that last beyond the elementary school years. 

Our newest initiative is a significant enhancement of our Volunteer Reading Program. This program will place a full-time WoR site coordinator at each of our two pilot schools to work in close collaboration with classroom teachers to develop individualized lesson plans for struggling students, recruit and provide intensive training for community volunteers, and establish a research-based digital assessment and instruction module that allows all teachers, specialists, and volunteers to provide and review data on each student’s progress and needs. After a 15-year track record of success, WoR is taking our programming to the next level by developing an initiative that incorporates a computer-assisted tutorial program, a strategic data collection and analysis component that focuses on academic achievement and patterns of attendance and behavior, and an on-site WoR staff member to monitor the program and tailor it to meet the unique needs of the school community.

 

To increase the reading support children receive at home, we provide schools with the tools and materials to train parents in how to develop their children's literacy skills as part of our Family Reading Program.  Since 2006, more than 400 family members have participated in this program. The reach of this program will increase exponentially after July 2009, when our comprehensive workshop materials will be available online to qualified literacy leaders at schools both inside and outside the WoR network. 

Finally, we also recruit authors to visit schools and participate in exciting activities with the children as part of our Visiting Author Program.  The impact of our work goes well beyond the tangible value of the facilities and new books we help install—which are significant in themselves. We support struggling students by helping schools with desperately needed community building, while creating a dynamic culture of literacy on each campus. Our efforts work in concert to significantly improve children's literacy skills, perhaps most importantly helping at-risk children gain confidence in their ability to read, improved self-esteem, and better attitudes towards learning.