For the third consecutive year, we held our statewide virtual conference and celebration in conclusion of our 12th year of ReadingPals! We celebrated the successes of our statewide early literacy initiative, including special recognition of our top-performing programs.
Renowned journalist and producer, Emily Hanford, whose hit podcast Sold a Story (Sold a Story en español) was one of the most-shared shows on Apple Podcasts in 2023, gave the keynote address. Emily’s work has helped change practice and policy on literacy across the country. She shared stories and insights to shift our perspective on how children are being taught to read in the U.S., and what volunteers, parents/caregivers, teachers, and community partners need to know to make the greatest impact.
ReadingPals provides volunteer mentors for students from pre-K to 3rd grade who may need extra help—operating across 15 Florida regions. Over the last 12 years, nearly 30,000 students have received a ReadingPals mentor and a share of 530,000 donated books.
Agenda & Video Archive
Keynote Speaker
Emily Hanford discusses her investigative reporting over the last eight years, exploring how children are being taught to read in the US. She explains how learning disabilities, lack of resources and common misconceptions all contribute to struggling readers. Emily breaks down the Science of Reading and how it can be used to inform early literacy instruction and intervention. Her hit documentaries including “Hard to Read” and “At a Loss for Words,” explore these concepts further.
Emily Hanford
Senior Producer & Correspondent, American Public Media Group
ReadingPals: Reach, Impact, and Growth
John Knight outlines the reach and impact of ReadingPals in 2023-2024, which includes 15 regional programs in 20 Florida counties. He discusses the growth of ReadingPals, reaching high-points since 2020 in number of locations (180), classrooms (560), volunteers (1,546), students (2,583) and take-home books donated (41,160).
John Knight
Statewide Director, ReadingPals
2023-2024 ReadingPals Award Winners
Uplift Literacy, Miami-Dade County: Fastest Growing Program
Aileen Sanchez Gonzalez, Executive Director & Pooja Patel, Program Manager
Uplift Literacy relaunched our Miami program in 2022 and have made incredible strides with their number of ReadingPals classrooms, volunteers, and students. In the last year, they’ve grown from 13 to 39 classrooms, from 34 to 97 volunteers, and expanded their reach from 72 to 219 students. Their growth of more than 65% in each of these key areas makes them our fastest growing ReadinghPals programs in 2023-2024.
ReadingPals Spotlight: Transforming Lives Through Literacy (Uplift Literacy, Miami-Dade County)
ReadyKids!, Escambia County: Most Volunteers & Highest Percentage of Eligible Students Matched
Kristy Craig, Executive Director & Kari Lindemann, Program Manager
ReadyKids! has embraced ReadingPals as one of their premier initiatives. They’ve spent years building a rock-solid foundation for their program to grow and thrive. We’re recognizing ReadyKids! for two of their standout accomplishments:
- They recruited our largest volunteer base of 218 mentors to complete at least six reading sessions, with 239 mentors finishing the school year.
- They’re also our first ReadingPals program to match 100% of eligible students in their partner classrooms 1:1 with a mentor. Across their seven participating schools, 212 students were matched with a mentor for the school year.