Read to A Child Inc.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Read Aloud Mentoring Program addresses the literacy and socio-emotional needs of elementary students. In 2019, 65% of all 4th graders performed below proficiency in reading and the scores were worse for students eligible for free or reduced lunches and English Learners (NAEP). Additionally, a 2016 NPR report stated one in five U.S. children show signs or symptoms of a mental health disorder every year, but nearly 80% of these children will not receive mental health services. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused huge academic losses, and a rise in classroom disruption, absenteeism, teacher and staff vacancies, and students seeking mental health services (The Boston Globe, 2022). While children in every demographic group have been affected, Black and Hispanic children, those from low-income families and those not fluent in English, have fallen the furthest behind, further widening the pre-existing opportunity gap (New York Times, 2022).
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Read Aloud Mentoring Program
Read to a Child uses an evidence based approach centered on the premise that a lifelong love of reading is a driver of opportunity for children throughout their lifetime. A caring connection with a reading mentor in the Read Aloud Mentoring Program helps to facilitate the attention, engagement, and confidence that all children need to succeed.
In the program, K-4th grade students recommended by their teachers are paired with an adult volunteer mentor from the community for weekly one-on-one mentoring sessions centered around the adult reading aloud to the student. Our pairs often stay together for multiple years, giving them the opportunity to build a bond that promotes trust, comfort, and enjoyment. The program is offered at no cost to our partner schools or participants.
The Read Aloud Mentoring Program serves students grades K-4 in Title 1 schools in the metropolitan areas of Boston, MA, Detroit/Pontiac, MI, Hartford/New Britain, CT, Los Angeles, CA and Miami, FL.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of participants who would recommend program to others
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Read Aloud Mentoring Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
In 2022, we altered our volunteer surveys. 95% of volunteers strongly agreed the program is rewarding and convenient. We were unable to collect surveys in Spring 2020.
Number of students enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, At-risk youth
Related Program
Read Aloud Mentoring Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Due to the impact of COVID-19 our student capacity decreased and we are working to return student enrollment to pre-COVID levels. Students are referred by teachers.
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Read Aloud Mentoring Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Adult volunteer reading mentors. Due to the impact of COVID-19, our student capacity decreased resulting in less volunteers. We are working to regain our pre-Covid reach.
Number of organizational partners
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Read Aloud Mentoring Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Corporations that provide funding and/or volunteer reading mentors
Hours of mentoring
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth, Children and youth
Related Program
Read Aloud Mentoring Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Hours of mentoring is represented by average number of sessions all students participated in. 1 Hour = 1 session.
Number of students who demonstrate improved overall literacy
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, At-risk youth
Related Program
Read Aloud Mentoring Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This metric is evaluated by teachers for each student. In 2022, 93% of students surveyed showed improved reading progress. We were unable to collect surveys in Spring 2020.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Read Aloud Mentoring Program has five overarching goals: 1) To provide support to under-resourced schools by connecting students with volunteer reading mentors, 2) To generate students’ enthusiasm for books and reading, 3) To improve students’ literacy skills, 4) To increase students’ self-confidence through weekly attention from their mentors, and 5) To provide adults with a flexible, convenient, and meaningful volunteer experience.
By 2025, Read to a Child will serve 2,000 students annually in the Read Aloud Mentoring Program, exceeding our pre-COVID reach of 1,451 students at the close of the 2019-20 school year.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Read Aloud Mentoring Program operates at no cost to our partner schools or students. Reading pairs are supported by an on-site Program Coordinator, employed by Read to a Child, and are provided access to a wide selection of diverse, appropriate books. Our program can operate both in-person and virtual, and schools are able to pick from 3 program models:
• In-person: both student and volunteer in school
• Virtual: student in school with volunteer video conferencing remotely
• Hybrid: both in-person and virtual options available
The Read Aloud Mentoring Program is centered around the power reading aloud to children has on their success. The U.S. Department of Education states that the single most significant factor influencing a child's early educational success and achievement is an introduction to books and being read to. Reading aloud to children has significant, positive effects on children’s language, phonological awareness, comprehension, and vocabulary, indicating that children at-risk for reading difficulties have higher literacy outcomes when participating in read aloud intervention than not (Journal of Learning Disabilities, 2012).
Not only does our program support literacy skills through read aloud, it supports a love of reading. A 2018 study reported that 74-79% of students enjoyed being read to and the benefits included feeling happy, relaxed, and good inside (Australian Journal of Teacher Education). In 2002, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reported that reading enjoyment is more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status. Additionally, students who love reading, compared to those who do not, earn consistently higher scores in mathematics and reading, show higher engagement in school, more positive communication and relations with family and friends, and higher motivation towards school (Ministry of Education, 2006).
The Read Aloud Mentoring Program incorporates the benefits of mentorship in addition to read aloud. “At-risk” students with mentors are 55% more likely to enroll in college, 78% more likely to volunteer regularly, 90% more likely to become interested in becoming a mentor, and 130% more likely to hold leadership positions than their un-mentored peers according to mentoring.org. Our mentors use books as a tool to discuss social and emotional learning components like self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Students are able to make connections to the books they are reading, learn from the characters, and apply it to their own lives and situations (Kappa Delta Pi Record, 2012). Children learning social and emotional learning strategies show improved classroom behavior, an increased ability to manage stress and depression, and better attitudes about themselves, others, and school (Child Development, 2011).
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Read to a Child is a specialized organization that recruits excellent talent in nonprofit management and education. Read to a Child is headquartered in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where we have the benefit of donated office space. Our program operates in the five metropolitan areas of Boston, Detroit, Hartford, Los Angeles and Miami. The organization is led by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who answers to a National Board of Directors, comprised of business and education leaders from across the country.
Each of our five regions is headed by a Regional Director who is in charge of guiding the programmatic and fundraising efforts of the region, while more needs directly related to the Read Aloud Mentoring Program are handled by a Program Manager or Specialist. Our Vice President of Program Management, Kaela Mento, oversees the Read Aloud Mentoring Program in all regions, ensuring consistent practices and results across the country.
Each school we serve is overseen by a Program Coordinator. Program Coordinators manage the daily operations at our individual school sites, including working closely with school administration and staff, students, and volunteers. For virtual sessions, two Read a Child staff members are present. One is dedicated to managing students and the other is responsible for supporting volunteers and supervising breakout sessions. These staff members are crucial to our success and ensure we do not burden school staff.
Our shift into virtual programming is instrumental to our success. In past years, prior to launching our virtual model as a result of COVID-19, volunteers had to be located within 15 minutes from the school to create a one-hour round trip commitment for our volunteers. By removing the barrier of distance by introducing a virtual model we will be able to widen our volunteer pool and reach more students.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic Read to a Child was consistently growing in size and continuing to improve the Read Aloud Mentoring Program. Prior to shutting down the program in mid-March 2020 we were providing 1,451 students with one-on-one literacy and mentoring support with help from 1,883 volunteers. Despite having to pause the program, we continued serving students by launching the Remote Read Aloud Mentoring Program. The program was created to provide supplemental read aloud content to students learning from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and to inspire students and their families to establish daily read aloud practices. In the Remote Read Aloud Program, notable authors, celebrities, athletes and politicians read aloud to groups of children online via Zoom. These sessions were recorded and produced, resulting in visually interactive and educational videos that center on important themes of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The Remote Read Aloud Program videos include lively Q&A sessions with the authors and children on the call. All videos are published on our YouTube.
In order to bring the Read Aloud Mentoring Program back for the 2020-21 school year, we had to swiftly build a new virtual infrastructure for our program. Our program team developed and implemented a fully virtual model – initiating us to use new technology, re-train volunteers, and create new materials. While the 2020-21 school year was a smaller program size than normal, reduced to 441 students, we were one of the only organizations to keep providing direct support to students.
We now run our program both virtually and in-person giving the organization much room for growth. Since we are no longer limited to the geographic footprint around schools to recruit volunteers the pool of eligible volunteers has significantly increased. Those who were limited by their home/office location or the commuting time are now able to conveniently volunteer in the program. Additionally, we have the potential to move into new schools that previously would not be able to accommodate the program.
Our priority at this time is growing the Read Aloud Mentoring Program to exceed our program size from pre-COVID numbers. By 2025 we plan to be serving 2,000 students annually through both the in-person and virtual models. We have been consistently growing the program since 2020 when we launched our fully virtual model. During the 2020-21 school year we served 649 students, a 47% increase from the prior school year. We plan to grow an additional 57% during the 2022-23 school year, aiming to serve 1,017 students in our five regions in the metropolitan areas of Boston, Detroit, Hartford, Los Angeles, and Miami.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Read to A Child Inc.
Board of directorsas of 08/16/2023
Ms. Julie Solomon
Pitney Bowes
Term: 2023 -
Julie Solomon
Pitney Bowes
David Brewer
The Brewer Leadership Group
Paul Lamoureux
Read to a Child
Katharine Beattie
Foley & Lardner LLP
David Walker
Retired Bank CFO
Richard J. Wasserman
Day Pitney LLP
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/14/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.