Readers Are Leaders - Non Profit

A POSITIVE ATTITUDE IS AN EXTRAORDINARY ASSET IN TAKING ON CHALLENGES AND CREATING THE MINDSET TO GROW AND SUCCEED. The fact that the mentoring is not a one-shot effort, that it is a weekly commitment, allows relationships to develop and expectations to take root. Our kids know that their mentors are going to be back—these high school athletes will return again and again to check up on them and support them week after week. The expectations, enthusiasm, and support of the mentors provide clear incentives that make a difference. And as reading skills grow and as the kids find books that engage them, a different kind of incentive takes hold and develops a momentum of its own. As the mentoring experience ends, not only will our young students often have a more positive attitude about reading, but they'll also have more confidence in themselves and a more positive sense of belonging in a community that cares.

PARTICIPATION & OUTCOMES

Student-athletes in program	385
Elementary students in program	385
Number of reading supported hours provided (based on 17 hours per student)	6,545

This year 98% of our student athletes successfully completed their commitment to mentoring in the Readers Are Leaders program. (Usually a small percentage of our athletes are dropped from a team due to eligibility requirements.)

SURVEY OF OUR STUDENTS

The following reflects input from the 770 students working with Readers Are Leaders

The percent of elementary students who reported enjoying reading in November was 40%.
The percent of elementary students who reported enjoying reading in June as a result of this experience was 78%.
The percent of student-athletes who reported feeling connected to their commnity in November was 56%.
The percent of student-athletes who reported feeling connected to their commnity in June as a result of this experience was 88%.

READING IMPROVEMENT ACROSS FOUR COUNTIES

GROWTH FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN READERS ARE LEADERS IN 2010-11

The graph below indicates the growth in students who are reading at or above grade level in each county.

In Fairfax County, 37% of our students were reading on grade level in November.
In Fairfax County, 73% of our students were reading on grade level in June.
In Prince William County, 0% of our students were reading on grade level in November.
In Prince William County, 100% of our students were reading on grade level in June.
In Arlington County, 65% of our students were reading on grade level in November.
In Arlington County, 85% of our students were reading on grade level in June.
In Loudoun County, 25% of our students were reading on grade level in November.
In Loudoun County, 77% of our students were reading on grade level in June.

Since we deal with only a small percentage of a school's population, and in some cases only one or two schools from an entire county, our reading data cannot be seen as a general indicator of the reading profile of a county. Also, we were unable to obtain county scores for the 75 elementary students participating through our community centers, approximately 20% of our students.

CUMULATIVE GROWTH

The following graphs indicate the cumulative growth in reading scores for 310 elementary students, whom we tracked from November 2010 through June 2011, using test scores (DRA and/or benchmark level data). For another 75 of our students at the community centers, data were unavailable.

BOOKS FOR OUR KIDS

The graph below indicates the number of books that our elementary school students received each year, based on each student receiving four books.