United Way of Berks Seeking Volunteer Tutors for Star Readers

Did you know that third grade reading proficiency is a critical component of learning and an indicator of long-term educational and life success? Yet, more than 43% of third graders (or nearly 2,000 students) throughout Berks County are reading below grade level. United Way’s Ready.Set.READ! initiative works with community partners to tackle this issue.

Ready.Set.READ! is a community–wide initiative that brings together schools, businesses, organizations and individuals to improve early grade reading success. Our goal is to have 90% of third–graders in Berks County reading on grade level by 2023 by:

• providing support to students who are struggling to be proficient readers
• promoting language and pre–literacy development in younger children
• empowering parents and caregivers to help their children read, learn and develop
• mobilizing the community to take action to improve early grade reading success

The initiative’s Star Readers program connects volunteer tutors with 1^st and 2^nd grade students within local school districts to provide supplemental reading assistance.  By tutoring one day a week, the volunteers help early grade students improve their reading skills.

More tutors are needed for the upcoming school year! No experience is required; a training session is provided. To learn more, please contact Darby Wiekrykas at [email protected] or 610-685-4574.