Literacy Mentors

The BFK Literacy mentor program partners with Creature Comforts Brewing Company’s Get Comfortable program, and Clarke County School District to engage the community in creating excitement around reading and forming supportive relationships to collectively help increase the number of 2nd and 3rd-grade students at H.B. Stroud Elementary School who are reading on grade level.

What is Literacy Mentoring?

Literacy Mentoring is the pairing of a community member with a 2nd or 3rd-grade student for the duration of the school year, with time spent reading and working on reading activities in the classroom.

Research shows that reading with a child for 30 minutes a day astronomically aids in reading proficiency. The goal is to have every student in the program receive a total of 15 hours of one-on-one time with their BFK Literacy mentor over the duration of their school year.

Mentors can choose to support the goal of 15 hours by committing to a regular schedule to visit with their student(s) during their reading block. Literacy Mentors are not asked to stay for the entirety of the reading blocks, rather they are the windows in which mentors are permitted in the classroom to meet for 30 or 60 minutes.

What is the time commitment?

How is it going?

Literacy Mentor Dashboard by Colleen Craven

Interested in becoming a Mentor?

We are extremely thankful for our literacy-invested Athens community supporting our program as mentors. Currently, all our Literacy Mentor Spots are filled, but please fill out an interest form and we will reach out as we have a need for more mentors!

Anticipated Timeline:

  • April 2023 – Applications open for the 2023-2024 school
  • July 2023 – Applicants receive background checks and RSVP forms for our fall volunteer training sessions
  • August 2023 – Training sessions happening throughout the month
    • New Mentors:
      • Saturday, August 19th from 10-2pm
      • Wednesday, August 30th from 2-6pm
    • Returning Mentors:
      • Monday, August 28th from 4-6pm
      • Thursday, September 7th from 5:30-7:30pm
  • September 2023
    • Week of September 11th – 1st wave of trained Mentors are in the school
    • September 12th – Applications for the school year close
    • More New Mentor Training Sessions!
      • Sunday, September 24th from 12-4pm
      • Thursday, September 28th from 2-6pm
  • Week of October 9th – 2nd wave of trained Mentors are in the school

Questions?

Reach out to the Literacy Mentor Program Manager, Colleen Craven, at colleeen@booksforkeeps.org

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