...the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.
-Becoming a Nation of Readers, a national report by the Commission on Reading
The goal of the national America Reads Program is to ensure that every child can read well and independently by the end of third grade. To help achieve that goal, the mission of the Vermont State Colleges America Reads Program is to “foster the love of reading and to provide children with additional one-on-one practice with reading."
Students are trained and then placed within a school to work one-on-one with a child. Any student is eligible to participate, but a love of children and reading is highly recommended. America Reads goes to their assigned school once a week for 40-45 minutes but a student can go more if they choose to do so.
America Reads is available as a work-study program, volunteer work or as a service learning class. The program is offered twice a year (fall and spring). The training process takes three hours, but once you’ve been trained you can participate in America Reads for your entire college career.
Reading Partners The who, what, when and why's of being a reading partner.