Now in its sixth year at the Perry Elementary School, the Everybody Wins! Iowa in-person programming is resuming, and the reading group seeks at least six more mentors to serve students in need.
The reading-mentoring program pairs mentors and elementary students for a 50-minute, one-on-one weekly reading and mentoring session. Through these ongoing read-aloud sessions, elementary school children are provided with an opportunity to build their vocabulary, listening skills and confidence. The program fosters children’s interest in reading and learning while encouraging them to believe that they can be successful in school and life.
Research on student literacy has shown us how important the read-aloud experience is for children. Most experts agree that reading aloud is the single most important factor in helping children to develop their vocabulary as well as their reading and language skills.
Research from the Children’s Literacy Foundation has also shown that the number of books in a child’s home is the best predictor of reading success, but 61% of low-income families do not own any children’s books. The Everybody Wins! Iowa program provides its Power Read students with at least six new books each school year.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, last year Everybody Wins! Iowa was still able to serve students virtually, connecting 535 students with 375 volunteer mentors and distributing 4,089 books to build their home libraries.
For more information about Everybody Wins! Iowa or to volunteer, apply online, or contact Anna at 515-242-8462 or asunstrom@everybodywinsiowa.org.
