Read Ahead

Read Ahead is proud to have delivered a high-quality reading-based mentoring program weekly from october 2022 - may 2023. Our program served 500 1st - 5th grade students across 8 public elementary schools in new york city where the majority of students are challenged by poverty. We engaged 962 volunteer mentors from over 35 corporate and community partners who supported students to develop literacy and social-emotional skills during weekly Read Ahead sessions.during nearly 1,300 sessions throughout the year, Read Ahead students Read over 8,500 books with their mentors and mastered literacy standards via booknook, a virtual learning platform that targets skills in five domains of literacy. 96% of parents and caregivers who completed our spring survey agreed that their child(ren) benefitted from Read Ahead. Reading ability, self-confidence in reading, and enjoyment of reading were the top academic benefits cited. Program attendance for volunteers and students (a measure of program engagement) was 88% and 89% respectively across the year. Read Ahead also held its first in-person sessions since 2020 in may, 2023, bringing together over 800 volunteers and students.in may, 2023 Read Ahead held its annual books & beyond gala. Over 300 guests gathered to raise critical funds and honor our longtime partner, teneo, and celebrate a team of educators from p.s. 51 in manhattan.