AM I REQUIRED TO ATTEND a training session?

Both seasoned and new volunteers are welcome to attend a training session. However, they are designed and required for volunteers that have not actively served within the past 9 months. If you attended training last year, but never actually served with students, you are still required to attend a training session before being placed in a school.

WHAT IF none of these fit my schedule?

ARISE2Read has scheduled several training sessions for you to choose from this year. If none of the scheduled trainings work for you, check our website periodically for updates. If you have completed our “Get Involved Form” you will also receive emails as new opportunities become available.

CAN I CHOSE MY SCHOOL? ARE THEY ASSIGNED?

Once you have completed a training session AND received your background check approval you will receive a list of openings (each representing 2 children in need of your help) at ARISE2Read schools. You get to choose where you serve. School selection is first come/first served. We ask that you prayerfully consider going to the schools on the list with openings, even if it isn’t immediately familiar to you. 

I SERVED LAST YEAR, WHEN WILL I GET STARTED?

Returning coaches get first dibs on returning to the school where they served the previous year. If you are wondering when you will be contacted about your school placement, we ask that you be patient a little longer.

With school just getting started, there are several things that must happen before we start putting volunteers in place. We have to get coaching schedules finalized, student rosters submitted, pretest students, etc.

You should be hearing from your Head Coach/Program Specialist in the next couple of weeks.

WHEN DOES COACHING TAKE PLACE?

All 48 A2R schools have different schedules, but all our literacy coaching takes place DURING THE SCHOOL DAY.  You will work with the same 2 students, on the same day, during the same hour, every week. Literacy coaching typically starts after Labor Day and concludes in April.

ARISE2Read takes an active role in the development of children in our public schools through the presence of volunteers focused on literacy. We tutor students one hour per week utilizing a simple sight word approach. ARISE2Read provides 8 – 10 brand new books each year for all of our 2nd-grade students in our partner schools to support the growth of their literacy skills.

Many Thanks to Our Amazing Volunteers!

43

Schools

2023–24

803

Volunteers

Served 2023-24

780

Students

Coached 2023-24

43,000

Books

Distributed 2023-24

43

Community
Partners

Our Challenge

39%

of Memphis children live in poverty and are, on average, THREE grade levels behind their more affluent peers in reading.

66%

of students not reading on grade level by 4th grade are at significantly higher risk of facing negative life-altering experiences.

61%

of students in low-income families have NO books in the home.

Our Solution

 

We train volunteers in a simple sight word approach to work with 2nd-grade students in our partner schools.

Our volunteers commit to serve for 1 hour a week, from September to April, coaching students one-on-one.

We provide every 2nd-grader in ARISE2Read schools with 8 – 10 brand-new books each year. Why? Because research shows that children living in poverty who are reading on grade level by 3rd grade have an 89% graduation rate!

THERE IS HOPE!

Research reveals that children living in poverty who read proficiently by the end of third grade have an 89% graduation rate!

2023/2024 Results

In 2023-2024, ARISE2Read students gained an average of 327 words or 3.5-grade levels of growth. While only 10% of students pre-tested on grade level. Post-test results revealed that 67% of our students were on grade level for a

563% increase

in students reading on sight word grade level!

A comparative analysis of 2nd-grade students in ten ARISE2Read partner schools who pre-tested below grade level revealed that 66% of ARISE2Read students were on grade level at the post-test, compared to 15% of students not in ARISE2Read.

Save a Child. Save a Family. Save a City.

2/3

of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of the fourth grade will likely be incarcerated or need government assistance. 

13:1

In middle income neighborhoods the ratio of books per child is 13:1; in low income neighborhoods, the ratio is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children.

61%

of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for their children.

Learn How to Get Involved

All it takes is one hour a week to help change a child’s life!