READ 718
Improving Literacy Among Children from Low-Income Families
Fast Facts
Brooklyn NY USA
Sharon Wurtzel and Chris Wallace
2021, 2022-23, 2024, 2025
Education
How READ 718 Is Making a Difference
READ 718 provides one-on-one reading instruction using both in-person and online teaching to improve literacy among students in grades 3-8 who are reading below grade level.
READ 718’s core programs utilize a series of 10-week instructional cycles taught by volunteer tutors. On average, students gain 1.5 reading levels per cycle. The students come from low-income families, and almost all are Black or Brown. Many have a learning disability, so the opportunity to receive free (or very low cost) high-quality one-to-one instruction is especially impactful. Students also gain greater confidence as their reading improves.
Work of READ 718
- Improves student reading skills.
- Matches students to tutors and monitors student progress and the resulting relationships between them.
- Can accept volunteer tutors from a wide geographic area due to the online option.
- Uses lesson plans and teaching methods developed by the Founder, who has an MA and state certification as a Reading Specialist.
Initiatives Supported by Project Redwood
2021: $30,000 to support the expansion of the online reading program and the hiring of a program manager and part-time project assistant.
2022-23: $30,000 to support the expansion of the number served in Brooklyn and the analysis of whether scaling by adding to the number of readers and geographic areas served is possible in the future.
2024: $55,000 Impact Grant to support hiring a consultant to guide READ 718’s strategic planning; strengthen its organization and structure via staff expansion; and strengthen its financial management via the development of structured methods for fundraising and use of funds, rather than having spending priorities come organically out of programs and needs.
2025: $40,000 Impact Grant to support the expansion of the remote program; the implementation of better data security and operational consistency by providing laptops to staff currently using personal devices; the engagement of a consultant regarding a donor cultivation strategy; and the funding of general operations, including salaries, materials, and program infrastructure.