There’s lots to celebrate as we wrap up another great summer program in partnership with Seattle Public Library and Seattle Public Schools, and welcomed new partners Highline Public Schools and South Park Community Center. Since the end of June, students have read for a total of 28,248 minutes in their tutoring sessions and at home!
Reading during the summer months is vital in preventing academic learning loss, particularly for struggling readers. Team Read’s Summer Program Coordinator, Rose Waller, has led our efforts to expand the program and boost attendance with exciting results.
Seattle Public Library: Students and coaches at Douglass-Truth, NewHolly, and Rainier Beach branches loved the weekly activities led by the children’s librarians. One of their favorite projects was constructing books that light up. Students learned about electricity and circuits, while writing their own stories.
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary: Team Read partnered with Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School to provide the first summer program to take place directly after Summer Staircase at the school. The ease of transitioning from the Summer Staircase program to Team Read in the same location led to phenomenal student attendance. Twenty-two student readers participate in Team Read at MLK Monday through Friday from 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm. This is the first summer site where we are serving the same kids 5 days a week (all other programs are 2 days).
South Park Community Center: When Team Read Site Coordinator, Liliana, expressed a passion for serving kids in the South Park area during the summer, we knew we needed to find a site to host the program. We approached South Park Community Center to see if they had available space and an interest in working with Team Read, and they responded enthusiastically. We hope to continue our partnership with SPCC after such a successful summer.
Hazel Valley Elementary: In the fall of 2016, Team Read successfully launched an after school program in Highline Public Schools and we were excited to be able to offer a summer program there as well. The Hazel Valley Elementary program was huge in personality and energy! Big thanks to Principal Casey Jeannot and Site Coordinator Tania Zaballa for their support in helping make the program a big success.