Read Together

Free Tutoring for Children 

Read Together is an exciting new initiative providing one-on-one free tutoring to primarily low to moderate-income elementary-age children (6-14), who are below grade level in literacy acquisition. Read Together matches children with trained tutors, ensures they have good books to read, and provides support to their parents through periodic literacy workshops. We currently offer these services in the Bath/Brunswick region and are incrementally expanding this program to serve children in additional towns within our midcoast service area. 

Read Together is intended to be supplemental to home and school learning, and to function independently from existing school programs. Participating tutors and students are asked to commit to meet for one-hour sessions twice a week for a year.

The tutoring sessions are individually tailored to the needs, abilities, learning style, and personal interests of each student, and are structured yet flexible. Tutors aim first and foremost to put the pleasure back into reading and to immerse their students in good stories. They also use a variety of self-selected materials and techniques to incorporate phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency into their sessions. Read Together gives free, high quality books as needed to participating students to guarantee they have easy access to appropriate and interesting reading material at home. 

Each tutor/student pair determines a mutually agreeable location, dates, and times for the sessions. The sessions occur outside of school hours. For the duration of the program, tutors are supported by the Program Director, who will be available to conduct periodic observations and provide feedback and technical assistance. Additionally, tutors can participate in literacy workshops to learn more about literacy development and to support their volunteer efforts. 

Students are given an informal reading assessment at the beginning, middle, and end of their year-long enrollment. The Program Director discusses the children’s progress with their parents through conferences, email exchanges, or phone calls. Periodic Tutor/Family Gatherings are held to celebrate the successes of the students and acknowledge the efforts of tutors, families, and students alike. 

For more information contact:

Katie Clark, Program Director

207-443-6384            This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.