The READ Center
Everyone needs and deserves a literate life
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Across the U.S., over 43 million adults cannot read, write, or perform basic math above a 3rd grade level. Only about 10% of those in need currently receive services. In Greater Richmond alone there are over 81,000 adults who lack basic literacy skills. Literacy skills are critical to accessing safety net resources, navigating employment changes, keeping up with health and wellness needs, and adapting to a digital society. In the City of Richmond, many adults currently lack the skills to read a bus schedule, fill out a job application, or help their children with homework. Lack of literacy disproportionately impacts historically disadvantaged communities due to systemic factors such as limited educational opportunities, racism, residential segregation, and discrimination policies. The impact of these factors on adult literacy in the Richmond metro region is reflected in our student population.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Changing Lives Through Adult Literacy
The READ Center provides adults with literacy education that meets their specific needs and fills in the fragments of knowledge they have missed along the way.
The READ Center provides Adult Basic Education instruction at no cost to adults in Greater Richmond who read below an 8th grade level equivalency. Curriculum includes reading, writing, spelling, basic math, and digital literacy skills. This is accomplished by providing classroom instruction, one-to-one tutoring, group tutoring, specialty classes, and workshops. We offer both in-person and online classroom instruction. Adults reading below a 4th grade equivalent meet in classes led by READ teachers twice weekly for two hours. Classes also have trained volunteer literacy tutors available to assist with the teachers lessons. Students reading at a 4th grade level or higher are paired with a one-to-one volunteer tutor. Pairs meet once a week for 2 hours, and the tutor will prepare the lessons for the student.
Adult Literacy Tutor Training
Tutor Training includes a 1-2 hour orientation, 1:1 or classroom observation, and an eight-hour training class. Tutors work in classrooms to help students with lessons and to support their personal literacy goals. 1:1 tutors work outside a classroom. Tutors are provided with Challenger adult literacy curriculum as a base for lessons. Additional resources are provided to support student goals, like drivers license study materials and GED study manuals.
Professional development opportunities are provided to tutors throughout the year. Help and support is available to tutors from READ tutor trainers, teachers and staff. In the 2022-2023 academic year, 116 tutors gave almost 11,000 hours of time and caring to READ Center students.
For more information and to register to become a READ Center tutor, please visit the READ website at www.readcenter.org or call 804-288-9930.
Financial Literacy
The READ Center collaborates with area health, housing, workforce, education, and other service providers to identify potential students and to offer onsite programming to their clients. The READ Center is in partnership with Chesterfield County Public Libraries. READ also works with the Richmond City Justice Center to provide literacy volunteers to assist residents on a one-to-one basis. The low literacy rate for adult inmates is estimated to be as high as 75%. Literacy programs in prisons can help inmates gain the skills and knowledge they need to lead successful and fulfilling lives after they are released from custody. Individuals who participate in literacy programs while incarcerated are 43% less likely to recidivate.
READ works with Caritas, VA Career Works, OAR Richmond, REAL Life, Richmond City Public Libraries, local and state social services, Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services, Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority, and area churches.
Where we work
Awards
Executive Director of the Year 2018
Virginia Literacy Foundation
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of adult learners enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Changing Lives Through Adult Literacy
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Percentage of students who achieved their goals
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Changing Lives Through Adult Literacy
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Students come with goals that require higher literacy levels. We use those goals to guide instruction. Students set goals at the start of the semester and then reassess them at the end.
Number of computer literacy/skills/technology courses conducted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Changing Lives Through Adult Literacy
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This includes basic computer classes and keyboarding classes.
Number of hours of training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Changing Lives Through Adult Literacy
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This includes virtual and in-person classroom hours, 1:1 tutoring hours, and digital literacy class hours.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn 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?
Students seek our services for numerous reasonsfor example, a student may want to increase their reading comprehension to earn a high school equivalency, advance in their workplace, or become more independent.
READ programs impact our students beyond just improving their ability to read. Each student creates personal goals for success, and we work with them to move closer to those goals. Goals may include increased self-confidence, obtaining a drivers license, or learning how to check emails on their phone. There is a more complex impact that we strive to communicate to you and the community: Literacy is a fundamental building block that impacts how we understand and address every single social issue.
Research has shown that limited language skills and low literacy skills are associated with lower educational attainment and worse health outcomes. While literacy is distinct from health literacy, low literacy skills directly impact an individuals ability to navigate a complex healthcare system. One-third of adults in the United States have limited health literacy skills. The rates are disproportionately higher for racial and ethnic minorities and those with less education and literacy skills. Low literacy is also associated with additional social determinants of health, such as employment status and lifetime income.
Research has also shown a strong correlation between income levels and reading proficiency. Over 50% of READ students self-identify as low income. Individuals with less than a high school diploma have the lowest weekly average earnings.
Student goals are integral to individual instruction plans. Goals may be job-related (gaining employment or enhancing job skills) or personal (health, parenting, education, self-determination, self-worth).
In the 2022-2023 academic year, we provided services to 114 individuals, of which 77% identified as Black, 13% as White, 4% as Asian and 2% as Hispanic. Research has shown significant gaps in literacy scores between White adults and Black adults, as well as all other minority groups. 47% of our students self-report as low-income and 55% do not have a high school equivalency. 82% of students read at a 0-5th grade level equivalency. 52% of our students are aged 25-59, 54% are women and 46% are men. We serve students in Richmond City (49%), Chesterfield County (18%), Henrico County (23%), and the surrounding metro area (12%).
Lack of literacy disproportionately impacts historically disadvantaged communities due to systemic factors such as limited educational opportunities, racism, and residential segregation and discrimination policies.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The READ Centers students are adults 18 years of age and older, and are diverse in their gender, race, education level, and employment status. Our students are parents, grandparents, homeowners, business owners, high school graduates, church members, and world travelers. They are our neighbors. They have learned how to navigate their daily lives without being able to read above an 8th grade level. More than half of READs students are reading at or below a 3rd-grade equivalency.
Students of The READ Center are proud and creative, but they might also feel the shame that has been placed on them by society. Society has created a stigma that can make it embarrassing to ask for help. The READ Center has created a caring, supportive environment, and our teachers, tutors, and staff understand the injustice our students may have experienced. We work to create safe spaces for those who choose to attend our programs.
Adult literacy should be an essential component of all anti-poverty and workforce initiatives but is often overlooked because adults are expected to have already acquired these skills. These basic levels of instruction are not normally included in Adult Education programming and adults without these skills may not qualify for workforce or career training programs. Parents with low levels of literacy may not be able to assist their children with their homework, complete field trip forms, access school info online, or read papers sent home from teachers.
These individuals are in a space in between left out of the conversations and financial support provided to K-12 as well as to career and workforce development programs. This is why the work done by The READ Center is so essential.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The READ Center holds a unique position in the cycle of adult education as the only literacy agency in Greater Richmond that provides programming at no cost to adults who are native English speakers and who read below an 8th grade equivalency. READ employs professional educational staff that are supported by trained volunteer tutors. Tutors attend Orientation as the first step in training. Its purpose is to help potential tutors understand the students and communities with whom they will be working. After Orientation, tutors observe in a READ classroom or one-to-one pair. Then tutors complete an online training module and attend a one-day training program on a Saturday.
At the training program, tutors learn about the four components of reading, how to develop a lesson plan and how to evaluate students needs and progress. Tutors work in classrooms and in one-to-one pairs. Professional development opportunities are provided throughout the year to enhance tutoring and personal skills.
Our tutors are patient, committed, caring, cheerleaders, have a sense of humor, and put students first. READ asks tutors to commit at least 2 hours a week for one year. Most READ tutors stay well beyond this commitment.
Support through grants, individual and corporate supporters, community organizations, and local government make it possible for READ to offer its programs free of charge to students.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In the 2022-2023 academic year, we provided services to 114 individuals, of which 77% identified as Black, 13% as White, 4% as Asian and 2% as Hispanic. Research has shown significant gaps in literacy scores between White adults and Black adults, as well as all other minority groups. 47% of our students self-report as low-income and 55% do not have a high school equivalency. 82% of students read at a 0-5th grade level equivalency. 52% of our students are aged 25-59, 54% are women and 46% are men. We serve students in Richmond City (49%), Chesterfield County (18%), Henrico County (23%), and the surrounding metro area (12%).
Lack of literacy disproportionately impacts historically disadvantaged communities due to systemic factors such as limited educational opportunities, racism, and residential segregation and discrimination policies.
FY24 PROGRAM INITIATIVES
1. READ Center leadership recognizes the urgency to increase our student enrollment to make a lasting difference in the lives of more adults in our community. We have outlined 4 program strategies to support that growth:
2. We continue to expand and enhance our advocacy platform to bring awareness of the adult literacy issue to law makers, decision makers and other organizations serving similar populations.
3. We have implemented alternate assessment tools to better determine and report on the improvements students are making.
4. We are implementing more consistent curriculum systems to facilitate the training of new teachers and the upward movement of students into new classes.
5. We are implementing a Life Skills path for students who need skills in addition to basic reading tools.
GOALS & OUTCOMES FOR FY24
1. The READ Center will enroll and provide one-to-one and classroom-based adult literacy programs for 175 individuals at no cost. Providing literacy services to adults at no cost removes potential income barriers. Serving more adults not only increases the number of adults reading at higher levels, but it also provides our community with more workers, children with parents who can participate more in their education, and more active citizens.
2. The READ Center will create and provide Life Skills curriculum to 12-15 students and establish relationships with other organizations to which these students may move once they have graduated from the Life Skills path at The READ Center.
3. The READ Center will add at least 4 new teacher-led classes to allow for more scheduling options for students and more grade-leveling of all classes. Grade-leveling allows students to move upward in their reading skill from class to class. The READ Center will also retain, recruit and train enough volunteer tutors to serve in all classrooms and to allow for an increase in one-to-one pairs with students reading at the higher levels.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
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
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, 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 engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our 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.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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.
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.
The READ Center
Board of directorsas of 01/26/2024
Mr. Will Seymour
Florance, Gordon, Brown, P.C.
William Seymour
Florance, Gordon, Brown, PC
Ellen Marie Hess
Virginia Employment Commission
Kady Salmon
Dominion Energy Services, Inc.
Sandy Reynolds
Hunton Andrews Kurth
Jordan Coles
Altria
Margaret P. Hill
Hanover Education Foundation
Margaret Magee
Markel Corporation
Rebecca Tres
WellsColeman
Janet Palmer
Deputy City Attorney, City of Richmond
Matthew Graves
Truist
Theresa Moore
Top Line Growth Partners
Anne Waleski
Community Member
Mike Walsh
Atlantic Union Bank
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
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? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
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? Yes
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
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/26/2024GuideStar 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 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 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.