As teacher-education requirements grow, colleges are finding themselves serving too many masters. The Role of the Business Partner As the corporate sponsor of a school-business reading partnership, you are making a commitment to become closely involved in a team effort to raise the reading performance of the students in a local school. It is up to you and the school to choose the best format for pairing volunteers with students. Options include working with students before or after school or during the day as part of the language arts instruction. It isrecommended, based on the Reading by 9 project, that volunteer reading programs take place during the school day and target students in grades one through three.
Volunteers typically spend one hour per week working with a child or small group of children.
The program spans four to eight months of the school year. The time your volunteers spend at the school willsignificantly improve the students' reading interests. Your company will be a catalyst to motivate children to read well and read for fun. This breakthrough will make students eager for theclassroom instruction that will ultimately advance their reading grade level. In addition to providing a core group of readingvolunteers, your company will likely identify other ways to help your partner school.