Our Albuquerque Reads kindergarten and first-grade students are celebrating the end of the school year. Here’s how you can help them celebrate their reading accomplishments!
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 from our members as well. Please let us know if you and your business are interested in helping us fill these tote bags for our readers!
Here are some ideas:
Coupons for discounts or freebies at family-friendly restaurants
School supplies like pencils, erasers, folders and notebooks
Non-messy crafting supplies like coloring books, crayons and colored pencils
For more information on how to support this program’s work, please contact D’Val Westphal at [email protected].
About Albuquerque Reads
For 20 years, we’ve 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 – sometimes more than 300 volunteers – spend 90 minutes of one-on-one time each week with students, practicing critical reading and writing skills with them. 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.
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.