About ReadingPals
ReadingPals is a statewide early literacy initiative led by The Children’s Movement of Florida. We create meaningful experiences for volunteer mentors to support students from Pre-K to 3rd grade who may need extra help. Our model focuses on developing early literacy skills, building relationships and confidence, and reinforcing a love of reading.
In Escambia County, ReadingPals volunteers support 4-year-old Pre-K students on their path to kindergarten readiness.
ReadingPals Pillars
EARLY LITERACY: To improve students’ vocabulary and understanding of the fundamental building blocks of early literacy.
MENTORSHIP: To strengthen confidence, self-awareness, and empathy through a consistent relationship between mentors and students.
LOVE OF READING: To reinforce a love of reading with good books and fun activities.
Volunteer Role & Impact
ReadingPals offers volunteers an opportunity to build meaningful relationships with young children while helping them to improve their social-emotional development and early literacy skills.
In Escambia County, ReadingPals spend 45 minutes per week working one-to-one with pre-kindergarten students from Escambia County Public Schools. Books, themed literacy kits, and other developmentally-appropriate learning activities are provided to ensure sessions are engaging and impactful. The volunteer and student pair get to choose which activities they work on each session to encourage positive decision-making skills and to foster independence and creative thinking. Sessions take place at the child’s school during normal school hours, and a skills checklist is provided to highlight learning outcomes and to assess student progress.
Every student in our ReadingPals classrooms receives a brand new, quality book every month of the school year to help build their home library. Each book is accompanied by thoughtfully crafted discussion prompts that relate to the story, designed to encourage family bonding and a deeper connection to the reading experience.
In the 2023-24 school year, 236 Pre-K students received a collective 4,790 mentoring sessions!
Why It’s Important
According to the Florida Department of Education, 49% of children in Florida and 50% of children in Escambia County were not ready for kindergarten in 2023. Additionally, the 2023 English Language Arts exam showed that 50% of Florida students were not reading on grade level by the end of third grade. National studies show that students who do not read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma than proficient readers.
Early intervention and individualized attention gives students the best likelihood of success long-term, and studies show that children with mentors are more confident and have fewer behavioral problems.
ReadingPals History
Thanks to the generosity of the Barnett family since 2011, more than 30,000 students have received a mentor, with more than 530,000 take-home books donated to build at-home libraries.
Funding for ReadingPals in Escambia County is also supported in part by many grants, including but not limited to United Way of West Florida, Regions, and Melba Bayers Meyer Charitable Trust.
