If children don’t learn to read by third grade, they can’t read to learn.
SMART (Start Making A Reader Today) recruits thousands of volunteers to read one-on-one with PreK-3rd grade children in need of literacy support. Every week for seven months, volunteers read aloud with kids to help them gain confidence in their reading ability. Educators agree this helps reinforce reading and language skills learned in the classroom. An independent study by the Eugene Research Institute reveals that fifth graders who participated in SMART are 60 percent more likely to reach state reading benchmarks than are similar students who did not participate.*
SMART partners with more than 200 schools that have high populations of children from low income families, as studies show they are less likely to have books in the home. To encourage reading outside the classroom, SMART gives each child 14 new, take-home books—two per month during the course of the program.
Every school year SMART mobilizes up to 10,000 volunteers. A donation to SMART ensures the organization can recruit, train and manage its statewide network of volunteers, while getting books in the hands of kids who need them most. The vision of SMART is an Oregon where every child can read and is empowered to succeed.