Our Albuquerque Reads kindergarten and first-grade students are close to celebrating the end of the school year. Here’s how you can help them celebrate their reading accomplishments AND help us all say thank you to all our amazing volunteer tutors!
In just a few weeks, at end-of-year celebrations at each of the program’s participating elementary schools, each student will receive a tote bag with more books to help them continue reading through the summer. The Chamber is working to include some fun/educational/delicious coupons or giveaways for students AND our hard-working tutors from our members. Please let us know if you and your business are interested in helping us fill these tote bags for our readers and tutors!
Here are some ideas:
- Coupons for discounts or freebies at family-friendly restaurants
- Coupons or discounts for a coffee, a treat or other item to thank our tutors
- School supplies like pencils, erasers, folders and notebooks
- Non-messy crafting supplies like coloring books, crayons and colored pencils
- Fun branded items – water bottles, etc. – from your company!
For more information on how to support this program’s work, please contact SVP for Albuquerque Reads and Leadership Albuquerque D’Val Westphal at [email protected]Â or call (505) 843-7323.
About Albuquerque Reads
Literacy skills are incredibly important for our kids. Research shows that students who can’t read on grade-level by the time they reach third grade are four times more likely to drop out from high school. And this program is proven to work – Albuquerque Reads students consistently show impressive improvement from the beginning of the school year to the end. This progress is especially important now. The pandemic has widened achievement gaps among students in New Mexico, with our economically disadvantaged and Hispanic students likely more behind than ever.
For more than 20 years, the Chamber has partnered with Albuquerque Public Schools to bring reading tutors into Title I schools to boost kindergarten and first-grade literacy skills through Albuquerque Reads. Our tutors spend 90 minutes of one-on-one time each week with students at three Title 1 elementaries, practicing critical reading and writing skills with them using a teacher-designed and supervised curriculum. The program also provides each child with at least 20 books throughout the school year so they can keep practicing their skills at home with family.