UPDATE 9/25/20: 2020-2021 School Year, 1st Semester Programming
Power Read is our signature program where students meet with their mentor to read aloud together, talk, and build relationships with one another. Matches meet once a week throughout the school year, and each match is strongly encouraged to continue year after year until the student ages out of the program.
Traditionally, our programs have been held using an in-person format. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our program will be moving to an online (or pen pal) format. We are keenly aware that our program will be more critically needed than ever as the pandemic has had serious impacts on students’ reading growth.
Students will need support, both in their literacy skills and in their social emotional development, whether they are learning from home or in a socially distanced classroom setting. Everybody Wins! Iowa is committed to flexibly accommodate our students ‘new normal.’
For now, EWI our programs will not be scheduled in school nor in-person. We do hope to resume in-person reading and mentoring at some point in 2021.
For the first semester we have developed these new programs for students and families:
Power Read Online (PRO) our students will be meeting virtually via computer or tablet with their mentors in a weekly Zoom session managed by their EWI School Coordinator. The student and mentor will be monitored by the site-coordinator each week. Each weekly session will be about 45 minutes (2-5 minutes in the “waiting” room; 5 minutes in the meeting room with everyone for announcements; 30 minutes reading and discussing books, etc. with each other; and then 5 minutes wrap up all together before dismissal.
Pen Pal will be bi-weekly exchanges between the students and their mentors writing about what they are reading, how they are doing, etc. The EWI School Coordinator will facilitate the letter exchanges between the students and the mentors. While the students and mentors are not able to share a book in person, their relationships will be maintained in this letter exchanges.
Student Book Distributions Another important program objective is to encourage our students to become avid readers outside school. We accomplish this through book giveaways. Each month this semester we are planning to provide each student in our program with a new book of their own to add to their home libraries.
Virtual Story Time Provides students and families videos of special volunteers reading favorite children’s books and stories. This also provides students another option to hear stories and books read aloud on demand in a safe setting that they can access via our EWI YouTube channel.
Volunteers may engage in any of these opportunities. To learn more, contact Anna Sunstrom at volunteer@everybodywinsiowa.org.
We are now about 4 days away from the official first day of autumn! Many of you are wondering, what are we doing with Everybody Wins! Iowa and our Power Read program?
Power Read is our signature program where students meet with their mentor to read aloud together, talk, and build relationships with one another. Matches meet once a week throughout the school year, and each match is strongly encouraged to continue year after year until the student ages out of the program.
Traditionally, our programs have been held using an in-person format. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our program will be moving to an online (or pen pal) format. We are keenly aware that our program will be more critically needed than ever as the pandemic has had serious impacts on many of our students’ reading.
Students will need support, both in their literacy skills and in their social emotional development, whether they are learning from home or in a socially distanced classroom setting. Like everything else, our program will look different this Fall. Yet our mission of helping students succeed in school remains the same. Your help is needed now more than ever.
For now, our Power Read sessions will not be scheduled in school (nor in-person), and our students will likely be meeting virtually via computer or tablet with their mentors during the school year (or through Pen Pal letters/emails exchanged with their mentors). We are busy finalizing the details of our virtual reading programs, training our staff, and getting students enrolled.
Some mentors will take part in our Power Read Online (PRO) program. Others will mentor through a Pen Pal program. We will try to keep a similar reading schedule as last year; however, we may need to adjust to meet our students’ needs. Initially during first semester, we will only be working with those Power Read students who were matched prior to March 13, 2020.
Our plan is to start reading the first full week of October. Our Site Coordinators will be contacting mentors soon with more information.
It is time to get reading again, and we are so excited to start another year of Power Read!
While we know there will be a lot of changes this year, one thing that never changes- Everybody Wins when you read with a child!
Karen Ligas, Executive Director
Everybody Wins! Iowa