Children’s Reading Partners has served more than 5,000 students in more than 80,000 reading sessions in the past 18 years.

West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor (third from right) with event emcee and event committee from left to right: Gary Katz, Bennett Forrest, Rona Gollob, Shari Cantor, Pamela Mondschein, Naomi Cohen. Photo credit: Shelby McInvale (submitted)

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Children’s Reading Partners celebrated its 18th anniversary with an adult spelling bee and dessert reception Thursday night at the University of Saint Joseph.

Children’s Reading Partners builds and improves the reading skills of pre-kindergarten to grade five educationally at-risk students in public school districts in five towns in Greater Hartford. The program recruits, trains, and places volunteers to read with these students (one-to-one or in small groups) on a consistent weekly basis.

Since 1998, the initiative has served more than 5,500 students and conducted more than 80,000 reading sessions. The program proudly invests in the children of Hartford and five neighboring communities (West Hartford, Bloomfield, East Hartford, Manchester, and New Britain). In the 2015-2016 school year, 232 reading mentors read with 419 educationally “at-risk” preschool through fifth grade children amongst three programs.  Ongoing training sessions throughout the school year, a new summer program, and the addition of the after school program resulted in Children’s Reading Partners having a 26 percent increase in the total number of students served in just two years.

Children’s Reading Partners promotes the use of books that help children develop emotional intelligence in order to cultivate a culture of kindness and empathy. The program further expands students’ reading resources through the annual donation of a book to each student, as well as that student’s classroom.

The program is modeled on the premise that from preschool to third grade, children learn to read; from fourth grade on, they read to learn. According to Naomi

Cohen, the program’s co-founder and a former House Chairman of the Connecticut Legislature’s Education Committee said, “The children with whom we read often have no books in their homes, lack adult support to reinforce reading abilities, and have limited comprehension skills. That’s why the mentoring we give is so critical to building literacy skills for student success.”

According to recent data from the U.S. department of education, Connecticut has one of the largest achievement gaps in the country. The new 2015 Smarter Balanced Assessment reading scores for the Greater Hartford area show that 90.7 percent of third grade students in Avon meet or exceed the achievement level, while only 24.1 percent of third graders meet or exceed the achievement level in Hartford and only 27.2 percent in East Hartford.

Alana Butler, director of Children’s Reading Partners, said, “Students thrive from the one-to-one attention from a caring adult. Not only do our reading mentors help to improve students’ motivation, confidence, and reading skills, but they also help students see the enjoyment and value of reading.” Before working with students, reading mentors receive a literacy “classroom” training from a certified reading educator. The training is a key differentiator of the program’s professional focus and orientation toward measurable outcomes. Volunteers commit to reading with the same child every week for the entire program term.

An educator at one of Children’s Reading Partners participating Hartford schools said, “This opportunity has benefitted us immensely because the students are given extra time every week to read books on their grade level with another adult. These relationships often provide a place for students to form bonds with their volunteers, and volunteers are always used as role models.”

Those interested in tutoring can register for a training session by calling 860-236-7323 or emailing [email protected].

Funds raised will be used to support Children’s Reading Partners, a program of the Jewish Relations Council at the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford. The event was sponsored by Trifecta Environmental, Strategic Business Advisors, and St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center.

Cohen added, “Giving back to one’s community is an important Jewish value on which Children’s Reading Partners rests.  It’s an honor to be part of our cadre of volunteers who are making a real impact in the lives of young, at-risk students.”

To learn more, visit http://childrensreadingpartners.org/.