Book Buddies is a program designed for elementary students in Syracuse, aiming to provide them with the resources they need to become better readers.
The program is a collaboration between the Syracuse City School District and the United Way of Central New York, intended to improve literacy rates among students in kindergarten through third grade.
Students meet with community volunteers twice a week during their lunch, where they spend time practicing their literacy skills one-on-one in ways that are both engaging and educational.
“They get that additional practice,” community education director for United Way CNY, Laurie Black, said. “Teachers are teaching in the classroom, and they come to Book Buddies to put that teaching to work.”
Black says that the biggest challenge they see among young readers is that they are coming into kindergarten underprepared.
“Well, the journey starts off with kids coming to school behind,” Black said. “Which just means that they don’t know their letter and letter sounds as they enter kindergarten. So, if we could invest in our early childhood system so that kids come stronger to kindergarten, it would help all the teachers that are doing such an important work to kind of close gaps.”
Black believes that if more kids entered kindergarten with the foundational skills they need to have a strong start, it would ensure they move forward with that same support.
One of the students benefiting from the work happening at Book Buddies is Erica Weir. Erica is a second grader at one of the schools the program partners with, and she says she enjoys the time she spends with her buddy.
When asked what her favorite part of Book Buddies is, she said, “Reading books!”
Book Buddies coordinator at Delaware Elementary School, Ashley Rivera-Worrell, said their volunteers attempt to build a rapport with students before diving right into learning materials, and they tailor their sessions based on what each student needs.
“It’s different for every student,” Rivera-Worrell said. “Some have the support at home to build their recognition…and some you can tell aren’t practicing outside of school. There’s (sic) also behavioral things that come into play. Maybe they didn’t sleep well the night before.”
Black said their volunteers go through specific types of training to ensure they are well-equipped to work with the students in the program.
Although Book Buddies has a supportive network of volunteers, Rivera-Worrell said they need more to be able to maintain one-on-one sessions with students and make sure each child receives the attention they need.
Rivera-Worrell said the program hopes to be able to provide more reading materials for students to take home so that they can continue to practice their reading skills outside of school.