"I find it inspiring that, as soon as we arrive at school, the students we are reading with run to us to ask if they can "read today" even if it is not their day to read. And it is good that they open up to us to discuss problems they are having at school, or nice incidents they have experienced. They are THRILLED to be able to take the books home."
- Sally A.
"I love going to read with my kids at Columbia – it is the best and most meaningful part of my work week!"
- Suzanne F.
"...working with a student for the past school year. When I first started reading with him, he had low self-esteem and lacked confidence in his reading abilities. He would get easily agitated when he could not read several words in a row and would ask to try another book. However, I did not allow this negative attitude to persist and instead continuously repeated how proud I was of his dedication and improvement. I purchased flashcards to have him warm up with before reading and it was only until recently that he was able to speed through the entire stack without my assistance. He proudly laid out the cards on the cafeteria tables and told every person who walked by (his friends, school staff, and family) that he read them all by himself. It was the first time I had heard him call himself smart; he was ecstatic and beaming with a sense of accomplishment."
- Jessica P.