Literacy Nonprofit Continues Expansion of After-School Programs for At-Risk Students

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two students reading a book and smiling

Phoenix, AZ – Read Better Be Better (RBBB), a Phoenix nonprofit that helps children improve literacy skills and become better learners, continues to expand in the 2019-2020 school year. The program’s Fall 2019 semester will now serve students in forty-one schools and community centers throughout the greater Phoenix metro area, an increase from twenty-six sites in Fall 2018.

RBBB after-school programs inspire and equip middle school youth through service-learning to assist struggling third graders by helping them build literacy and learning skills. Third and middle grade students work one-on-one, in an after-school setting, following a preset lesson plan for reading comprehension, focus-building, and developing an increased enjoyment of reading.

RBBB was founded to address a serious problem in Arizona’s youth. Students not reading at grade level by the end of third grade are four times less likely to graduate high school; yet the 2019 AzMERIT test scores from the Arizona Department of Education indicated that fifty-four percent of Arizona’s third graders read below proficiency. And eighty-five percent of Arizona third graders from low-income families are not reading at grade level.

“Read Better Be Better is built on the belief that all children deserve the chance to succeed and the knowledge that literacy is a stepping stone to academic and life-long success,” said Sophie Etchart, founder and CEO. “If a child can read proficiently by the end of third grade, there is an 89% chance that student will graduate high school, irrespective of poverty.

“Our program empowers students to recognize their own potential, and the opportunity for older kids in the community to be part of the solution,” said Etchart. “The youth leaders commit our curriculum to memory and implement it at home with younger siblings; younger students speak up in the classroom to convince their peers of the importance of reading. That is how we effect lasting, societal change.”

Kick off for Read Better Be Better’s Fall 2019 semester began the week of September 3, 2019. Each after-school program runs for ten weeks and accommodates each district’s school calendar.

Read Better Be Better Fall 2019 Participating Schools and Community Centers (alphabetical by district):

ALHAMBRA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

BARCELONA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
CAROL G. PECK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
CORDOVA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
GRANADA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SEVILLA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
MADRID NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL
JAMES W. RICE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
CATALINA VENTURA SCHOOL

AVONDALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

AVONDALE MIDDLE SCHOOL/ELISEO C FELIX ELEMENTARY
CENTERRA MIRAGE STEM ACADEMY
COPPER TRAILS ELEMENTARY
DESERT STAR SCHOOL
DESERT THUNDER ELEMENTARY
MICHAEL ANDERSON SCHOOL
WILDFLOWER ACCELERATED ACADEMY

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF METRO PHOENIX

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB: BOB & RENEE PARSONS BRANCH
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB: I.G. HOMES BRANCH
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB: HARRY & SANDY ROSENZWEIG BRANCH
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB: WARNER A GABEL BRANCH

BUCKEYE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

BALES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
BUCKEYE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
INCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
MARIONNEAUX ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
STEVEN R. JASINSKI ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

GLENDALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

GLENDALE LANDMARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

LITTLETON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

COLLIER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
COUNTRY PLACE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
ESTRELLA VISTA STEM ACADEMY
FINE ARTS ACADEMY
LITTLETON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
TRES RIOS SERVICE ACADEMY
QUENTIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

OSBORN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

CLARENDON-ENCANTO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
LONGVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SOLANO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PHOENIX ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

AUGUSTUS H. SHAW JR. MONTESSORI SCHOOL
WHITTIER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

UNION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

DOS RIOS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
HURLEY RANCH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

For more information about Read Better Be Better, visit www.readbetterbebetter.org.

Written by:
Billie Brown
media@readbetterbebetter.org
(623) 404-6030 ext. 1005