Smart Reading

TO SPARK JOY AND OPPORTUNITY THROUGH THE MAGIC OF A SHARED BOOK.

SMART READING IS A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED, STATEWIDE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION (INCORPORATED IN THE STATE OF OREGON) WITH A NETWORK OF VOLUNTEERS, EDUCATORS, DONORS, AND ADVOCATES ACROSS OREGON WHO ARE BANDING TOGETHER TO EMPOWER CHILDREN FOR MORE SUCCESSFUL FUTURES THROUGH BOOKS AND READING. HEADQUARTERED IN PORTLAND, SMART READING ENVISIONS AN OREGON IN WHICH EVERY CHILD CAN READ AND IS EMPOWERED TO SUCCEED. OUR MISSION IS TO ENGAGE COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS TO READ ONE-ON-ONE WITH PREKINDERGARTEN THROUGH THIRD GRADE CHILDREN WHO NEED READING SUPPORT. PARTICIPATING CHILDREN ALSO RECEIVE NEW BOOKS EACH MONTH TO KEEP AND READ WITH THEIR FAMILIES.SMART READING PARTNERS WITH 290 SCHOOLS AND HEAD START PROGRAMS ACROSS OREGON WITH HIGH POPULATIONS OF CHILDREN FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES, AS THESE STUDENTS ARE MOST AT RISK FOR FALLING BEHIND. SMART READING IS OVERWHELMINGLY FUNDED BY PRIVATE SOURCES, AND ACHIEVES THIS WORK BY LEVERAGING PRIVATE DOLLARS AND PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE TO PROVIDE PROVEN READING SUPPORT, MENTORSHIP, AND BOOKS FOR OREGON'S MOST VULNERABLE CHILDREN. THE INTENTION OF SMART READING IS TO PROVIDE A FUN, CHILD-GUIDED EXPERIENCE THAT BUILDS READING SKILLS, SELF-CONFIDENCE, AND A LIFELONG LOVE OF READING IN CHILDREN.DURING THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2021, SMART READING DELIVERED ONE-ON-ONE READING SUPPORT TO 17,695 CHILDREN AND GAVE AWAY 140,564 BOOKS. THIS WAS POSSIBLE, IN PART, THANKS TO OVER 570 VOLUNTEERS, WHO TOGETHER CONTRIBUTED APPROXIMATELY 11,000 HOURS OF VOLUNTEER TIME. SINCE 1992, SMART READING HAS SERVED OVER 250,000 CHILDREN WITH THE HELP OF OVER 144,500 VOLUNTEERS, AND GIVEN AWAY OVER 3 MILLION BOOKS. TOGETHER, WITH SUPPORT FROM COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE STATE, SMART READING IS EMPOWERING OREGON CHILDREN FOR READING AND LEARNING SUCCESS. AND WE KNOW THE PROGRAM WORKS. AN INDEPENDENT STUDY BY THE EUGENE RESEARCH INSTITUTE REVEALS THAT FIFTH-GRADERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN SMART READING AS FIRST-GRADERS ARE 60 PERCENT MORE LIKELY TO REACH STATE READING BENCHMARKS THAN ARE SIMILAR STUDENTS WHO DID NOT PARTICIPATE. SMART READING STUDENTS DEVELOP READING ACCURACY, FLUENCY AND COMPREHENSION SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER AND MAINTAIN THESE GAINS EVEN AFTER COMPLETING THE PROGRAM.IN 2018-19, YEAR-END SURVEYS ADMINISTERED TO VARIOUS SMART READING CONSTITUENTS. NINETY-SEVEN PERCENT OF EDUCATORS SURVEYED FELT THAT SMART READING CONTRIBUTED SIGNIFICANTLY TO LEARNING AND GROWTH FOR THEIR STUDENTS. AMONG PARENTS, 97 PERCENT SURVEYED THOUGHT SMART READING BENEFITED THEIR CHILD SIGNIFICANTLY. EACH SPRING, SMART READING TEACHERS ARE INVITED TO REPORT ON PROGRESS THEY HAVE WITNESSED IN SMART STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. ACCORDING TO THE MOST RECENT STUDENT BENCHMARK DATA AVAILABLE, TEACHERS INDICATED THAT SMART READING STUDENTS CONSISTENTLY SHOWED IMPROVEMENT IN MEASURES OF LITERACY DEVELOPMENT. NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF SMART READING STUDENTS MET OR EXCEEDED GRADE-LEVEL BENCHMARKS IN READING, AND NEARLY THREE-QUARTERS MET OR EXCEEDED READING COMPREHENSION BENCHMARKS.