Vision

Our vision is to produce strong, confident, effective, and joyful readers who see reading as an integral part of their lives and are life-long learners. Our long-term goal is to support as many as 20,000 students in Greater Philadelphia, with each student receiving three years of robust support, from kindergarten through second grade.

Goals

1. 1.We believe it is critical to ground our work in the latest research. The Science of Reading is a vast compendium of research studying how students learn to read. It provides compelling, evidence-based guidance for teaching critical reading skills, including phonemic awareness and phonics. As a social justice organization, we hold this science to be a critical component of socio-economic mobility.
2. 2.We are committed to sparking joy in young readers. Studies show that joyful reading is more effective, as students have greater capacity for working through challenges. To effect joy, we introduce students to culturally competent texts featuring protagonists that reflect their experience. We meet students where they are in their reading journeys and give them autonomy over their learning.
3. 3.Our new model gives students three years of high-quality tutoring, from kindergarten through second grade, thus reinforcing essential foundational skills and providing opportunities to apply those skills to reading text. The final year features active mentorship and targeted support from a trained adult volunteer. We make this long-term investment to affect a greater and more durable impact.