National nonprofit founded in 1999 providing community volunteer-based, one-on-one reading tutoring in under-resourced US schools, plus a curriculum licensing programme.
Reading Partners is a national non-profit founded in 1999 that works to widen equitable access to literacy education for students across the United States. Its model is built on community volunteers and AmeriCorps members who deliver individualised reading tutoring, with a stated goal of having students read at grade level by the fourth grade.
Its main programme, Direct Tutoring, places trained volunteers in reading centres inside under-resourced schools, running one-on-one sessions twice a week during the school day and after hours. The organisation reports more than 3m direct tutoring sessions delivered to date and operates in over 40 school districts. A second offering, Powered by Reading Partners, allows schools and community organisations to adopt its curriculum and methodology directly.
The work draws on the science of reading, systematic phonics and high-dosage tutoring research, and the organisation maintains an internal focus on curriculum development and education research. Its reach is national, with programmes in California, New York, Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, South Carolina, Maryland, Colorado and Washington.
Reading Partners describes itself as mission-driven, with a culture oriented around evidence-based methods, volunteer mobilisation and measurable outcomes for students in under-resourced schools.
