When everything around us moves at lightning speed, it’s easy to get caught up in the need for quick results and instant gratification. But when it comes to helping our students learn to read, immediate feedback isn’t always part of the process. Learning to read is a marathon, not a sprint, and each of us plays a small but vital part in what can be a very long race, often left to wonder whether our efforts helped move things closer to the finish line.
Throughout the year, we hear stories of how our Reading Mentors are impacting students in ways that go far beyond hard data and reading scores. I call these our “moments of joy,” and I share them regularly with our staff as a reminder of the difference we’re all making together. Sharing these stories is one of the most meaningful parts of what I do, and as we celebrate 15 years of Lead to Read KC, it feels especially fitting to bring them to you. I hope they make you smile, and remind you that showing up every week for your student is absolutely worth it.
Allison White, Director, Programs & Reading Mentoring
From Teachers & Librarians
“I have one student who is very shy and quiet, but when it’s time for Lead to Read, his face lights up every week. He really likes his reading buddy. He’s a struggling reader, but I can see him genuinely trying when he’s with his buddy.”
“One student will not stop carrying the book his mentor gave him! He’s obsessed with it and loves sharing all the new facts he learns. I actually had to make him leave it at my desk because he kept trying to read it instead of doing his classwork.”
“At the first reading session after winter break, the kids were so excited to get started again that they were squealing when the mentors walked into the library!”
From Reading Mentors
“My student and I were playing a guessing game. I’d say ‘I’m thinking of an M word,’ and he would guess ‘moon’ or another M word. Then our game paused, and he said, ‘Guess what I’m thinking.’ I didn’t know. He looked down, then looked up at me and said, ‘Been thinking Dave is the best friend ever.’”
“My student made me a card that said, ‘You make reading fun!’”
“My student and I were going over power words, and the word ‘old’ sparked a conversation about our ages. My student looked at me and said, ‘You’re going to die soon.’ After a brief pause, she added, ‘But then who would read with me?’”
“I told my student that we wouldn’t see each other for four weeks over the holiday break. They tried to negotiate, ‘How about two weeks?’ — hoping to shorten the time apart.”
From Site Coordinators
“Before one reading session, I spotted a student in the lobby who asked eagerly if her buddy would be there. When I said yes, the student beamed and said very seriously that she never wants to miss school on Thursdays because she never wants to miss reading with her buddy. Then she added, ‘My reading buddy is the BEST buddy.”
“I regularly run into a former Reading Mentor who is now a Chick-fil-A manager. He always says hello when I come through the drive-thru. One day, he told me that a student he had read with in first grade had come through the drive-thru as a high school freshman, recognized him, and said, ‘You were my buddy in first grade with Lead to Read!” He was moved that the student remembered him after all those years.”
Reading growth is about so much more than test scores. It doesn’t always happen quickly, and it may not be immediately visible. But as we mark 15 years of Lead to Read KC, stories like these are proof that the impact runs deep and lasts far longer than any of us may realize. We are deeply grateful to our Reading Mentors for forgoing the need for quick results and showing up, week after week, as a vital part of each student’s reading marathon. These are the stories worth sharing, and we’re so glad you’re part of them.
Thank you.
