Team READ USA has a new opportunity for someone to join our mission of solving illiteracy!
Through funding from the AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program, READ USA is offering a one-year, full-time service opportunity as a Volunteer Recruitment Associate. This opportunity will add capacity to READ USA and help us continue to scale and grow our programming and volunteer engagement efforts.
Volunteers at our annual Volunteer Appreciation Event.
Share this email if you know a young adult who:
- Has completed at least some college courses
- Wants to gain practical work experience
- Is passionate about uplifting our under-resourced neighbors
- Enjoys working with people who want to make a difference in our community and world!
The Volunteer Recruitment Associate will work alongside READ USA leadership to create, implement, and evaluate volunteer recruitment strategies. Measured over four phases during the year-long service opportunity, the Volunteer Recruitment Associate will essentially create a handbook for READ USA to use in perpetuity to strengthen our volunteer engagement.
Interested in learning more? Access the service opportunity description, read the program benefits (end-of-service stipend or education award, living allowance, etc.) and apply directly through VISTA here.
Thank you to AmeriCorps VISTA for this fantastic opportunity to help READ USA continue to grow our impact!
Did You Get Your Tickets Yet?!
THE PLAYERS Championship is less than two months away – and you can get the lowest-priced tickets available through READ USA! Tickets are already increasing in price as we get closer to the tournament from March 13-16…so now’s the time to act!
READ USA is an approved Chip-in for Charity nonprofit, so we receive $40 from every competition-day ticket sold using our promo code (305FTE) – and you receive the most affordable tickets available!
#truthbomb: Competition-day ticket prices won’t go up between now and Feb. 28 through Chip-in for Charity!
Remember to use our promo code: 305FTE
Some things to keep in mind:
- Tickets are for competition round days only (Thursday-Sunday); tickets for practice rounds are not available with this promo code.
- Limit 6 tickets, per Ticketmaster account, per day; you can return after 24 hours to purchase more tickets – and we welcome you to do so!
- General tickets are dynamically priced (the cost will increase over time), but the tickets sold through Chip-in for Charity will remain the same:
- Thursday, March 13: $85 + tax
- Friday, March 14: $95 + tax
- Saturday, March 15: $95 + tax
- Sunday, March 16: $90 + tax
Team READ USA is grateful to THE PLAYERS Championship for providing this fantastic opportunity for golf fans to attend the tournament AND support literacy – all in one action!
Next Weekend: Florida Literacy Association’s 60th Annual Conference
The Florida Literacy Association’s 60th Annual Conference – #ShineBright – is coming up next weekend on January 24-26 in Orlando, and Team READ USA is getting excited for the action!
READ USA team members at our booth during last year's conference.
Thanks to the generosity of a private donor, READ USA is proud to be the Diamond Sponsor of the conference, serving as a significant investment in enhancing educators’ effectiveness in solving illiteracy across the state. The conference annually convenes hundreds of Literacy and English-Language Arts teachers, administrators, and other educators to learn from and network with nationally renowned literacy experts.
And speaking of experts, our very own READ USA President and CEO is leading a workshop himself! Dr. Kelly will discuss, “The Fluent Reader’s Playbook: Teaching for Fluent Reading Across Grade Levels and Content Areas.” Dr. Kelly also serves on the Board of the Florida Literacy Association and the Conference Committee.
We look forward to seeing our fellow educators in Orlando next weekend! Be sure to stop by the READ USA booth (Booth #1) to say hello!
Read more about the conference and register here.
Congratulations, DCPS!
#ICYMI the fantastic news last week, we wanted to share it with you and also give hearty congratulations to Team Duval!
The Florida Department of Education announced that, for the 2023-2024 school year, the state achieved the highest graduation rate in state history. Alongside that, Duval County Public Schools’ (DCPS) 2024 graduation rate also reached a record high! A total of 90.9% of high school seniors graduated last year, up from 90.2% in 2020. It’s a fantastic reason to celebrate!
In particular, Raines High School – from which READ USA routinely recruits teen tutors for our Literacy Tutoring program – saw its graduation rate increase to 98%, up from 94%. And, three traditional public schools saw 100% of their students graduate: Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Stanton College Prep, and Andrew Jackson High School.
Congratulations to Team Duval and every senior who accomplished and celebrated this tremendous milestone last year!
Read more about this great news from Jax Today here.
Children’s Book: The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrated by Rafael Lopez
Jacqueline Woodson’s first book, The Day You Begin, tackles finding courage and strength when you discover you’re different. Her second book, The Year We Learned to Fly, is just as special.
This time, Woodson’s story continues with a little girl who learns resilience from no one better, her grandma! Grandma helps her and her little brother imagine their way out of boredom on a rainy day. Later, the sibling pair learns to use their imagination to “fly away” from trouble. As a result, they learn that “flying away” was a skill perfected by their ancestors long ago when hope was hard to find.
Submitted by Tabetha Cox, READ USA Chief Tutoring Officer
Parent Education Corner: What Does Building a Love of Reading Look Like?
The most powerful way to build a love of reading in our children is to read aloud to them. Literacy begins in the lap of mom, dad, grandmother, or any beloved adult. Reading aloud to our young ones is about embracing the time, the child, and the book in an exploration of pages, illustrations, and hearing the beauty of how the English language works. Listening to a skilled reader while following along with the book models fluency, introduces the rhyme and rhythm of language, and shows young readers how books work.
Author Mem Fox speaks so eloquently about the power of reading aloud to children. The best-selling children’s author and internationally respected literacy expert reveals the incredible emotional and intellectual impact reading aloud to children has on their ability to learn to read. With passion and humor, Fox speaks of when, where, and why to read aloud and demonstrates how to read aloud to the best effect and to get the most out of a read-aloud session.
Here are some ideas about ways to interact with a child and foster the love of reading:
- Give the child small stickers and let them place a sticker in parts of the book they LOVE. Then, talk with them about why they love that part.
- Pick out a few books and let the child choose what they would like to read together. Book choice goes a long way to foster engagement with reading.
- Wear a word! Have the child pin a word from their reading to their shirt and talk about the word with others throughout the day.
- Take a book selfie. Children can take a fun picture with their favorite book(s) to share their experiences with reading with family, friends, or their teachers or classmates at school.
- Carry a poem in their pocket. Children can print poems on small slips of paper and share the poem with others throughout their day.
Submitted by Tabetha Cox, READ USA Chief Tutoring Officer
Do you have any questions or ideas for the Parent Education Corner? Anything you’d like to learn? Let us know here!