Readers Are Leaders

FUNDED ACTIVITIES

The following steps are part of the action plan that has evolved in structuring our program. Funded by our supporters, they are critical to the success of the program.

TUTOR TRAINING

All coaches and community center coordinators attend a workshop focusing on the goals and methods of the program, taught by the Readers Are Leaders coordinator and one of our reading specialists. In addition, all student athletes attend a 2-hour training session presented by their school reading specialist to communicate helpful strategies to produce better readers.

ENRICHMENT

The mentors and their elementary school partners also share experiences away from the reading table such as attending a family night dinner or traveling to cultural events, restaurants, bowling, movies, and sporting events.

CULMINATING ACTIVITY

During the last session, the mentors and reading students are rewarded with a party, and each receives a certificate of participation. Each mentor also presents his or her reading buddy with a medal of success.

TEAM DONATION

Each team receives a donation to its program that is used to defray the cost of supplies and equipment or to help pay for the expenses of travel, food, and lodging to a holiday tournament.

EXPECTATIONS FOR OUR MENTORS

Readers Are Leaders promotes education, leadership, sportsmanship, character, and citizenship for all of our student athletes. We encourage all mentors to maintain a high standard of academic achievement not only during the season but also throughout the school year.

To meet this goal, our student athletes need to develop the work ethic, discipline, and commitment that are the foundation of academic success. However, academic success is only part of the equation. We also set high standards for personal growth as we work to develop integrity, character, compassion, and social responsibility in our young men and women.

Our student athletes are taught to understand that mentoring is a commitment to a relationship between each of them and their reading partner. They must focus on developing the character and capabilities of their partner, while leading by example and doing their best each day in the classroom, on the court, and in their community. Each program strives for a 100% success rate in academic performance with its mentors.

STUDENT ATHLETES

Unexpected Rewards

It is difficult to measure how much our student athletes grow—often they grow and are rewarded in unexpected ways. Initially, they expect that their work in Readers Are Leaders will help to support the team with the funds necessary for such things as tournaments and equipment.

What surprises them are the bonds that develop out of meaningful relationships with the kids they mentor; what surprises them is that they value the sense of service and commitment that has taken root in the rewarding experience of helping someone in need; what surprises them is that by helping others to value reading and to work toward academic success, they have strengthened their own academic commitment.

They learn that by stepping into the role of a mentor, they have become part of a team with their coaches, reading specialist, teachers, and administrators. This success is not about points on a scoreboard, but about improving reading scores and seeing young kids grow in positive ways as they strive to become academic all-stars.

ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

Expectations for our Elementary Students

Readers Are Leaders has five underlying goals we use to survey the attitudes of our young readers: the enjoyment of reading in school, the enjoyment of reading in their free-time, a sense that they can learn new things when they read, a sense that people other than their teachers encourage them to read, and a belief that reading is important.

Although the primary focus of our program is to boost the reading skills of our young students, there are often other significant benefits that arise from the mentoring relationship. We know that many of our at-risk readers not only struggle with the process of reading but also suffer from a negative attitude toward reading. Sometimes the negative attitude is caused by weak skills and the struggle to read; sometimes reading is simply seen as uninteresting, unimportant, or un-cool. If this attitude persists, academic success often becomes unimportant, and kids will become bored and won't commit the effort to grow and develop their talents.

Our mentors are often able to break through this resistance and spark an interest and an effort. Our young students often develop a different perspective, seeing themselves as special because a high school student and a good athlete thinks this reading stuff is important and cares enough about them to help them improve. In addition to reading problems, often our kids also struggle to fit in or to find attention, self-confidence, and direction. Our mentors frequently become a surrogate older brother or sister, who supports and encourages, gradually changing a kid's attitude, helping him or her to become more self-confident, and guiding him or her onto a more rewarding path.