Why Partner With Reading Assist?

Reading Assist helps schools and communities provide the extra literacy support students need to reach benchmarks and grow into confident readers.

Our model is designed to be practical, evidence-based, and easy to implement. We recruit, train, coach, and support Reading Assist Fellows so partners can focus on students while we manage the instructional and administrative details.

Reading Assist can help bring structured literacy support to the students who need it most by partnering at the school, district, or community organization level. 

Partner Benefits

Support That Works for Students and Schools

Results

Reading Assist helps schools deploy consistent, data-driven instruction exactly when and where students need it most—whether integrated into the school day, extended-day sessions, or summer terms.

Benchmarks

Across all program models, students starting in the lowest 25% for reading proficiency make rapid, measurable progress toward foundational reading benchmarks.

Outcomes

Students receive high-dosage, structured literacy support tailored to their specific needs.

Economies of Scale

Reading Assist provides a highly cost-effective framework to expand a school’s tier-2 and tier-3 intervention capacity without overextending internal staff or standard operational budgets.

How It Works

Recruit

Reading Assist recruits dedicated, passionate individuals—including AmeriCorps members—to serve as high-impact Reading Assist Fellows.

Train

Fellows are trained in Reading Assist’s accredited multisensory structured literacy program.

Embed

Fellows are fully embedded in partner schools and are expected to be on site from September to June.

Coach & Manage

Reading Assist manages the instructional coaching and administrative work connected to each fellow.

Instruct

Fellows support a caseload of up to 14 students in grades K–3. They work one-on-one or two-on-one with students every day for 30 to 45 minutes.

Monitor

School leaders and faculty receive monthly progress reports and can access weekly progress monitoring data.

FAQs

Common Questions About Partnering With Reading Assist

Reading Assist Fellows deliver our accredited, evidence-based reading program with a focus on phonemic awareness, phonics, and oral reading fluency. Sessions are highly structured, lasting 30 to 45 minutes, and are seamlessly integrated into your designated program hours.

Reading Assist Fellows are trained in Reading Assist’s accredited multisensory structured literacy program. The program was accredited by the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council, or IMSLEC, in 2017 and reaccredited in 2022.

For our flagship school-year program, fellow cohorts typically train in four-week sessions that run from mid-August through mid-November. For our after-school and summer programming, training schedules are condensed and customized to align with those specific project timelines.

Fellows usually begin working with students in mid- to late September. They work through the end of May or whenever school interventions stop.

Fellows can support a caseload of up to 14 students in grades K–3, depending on student pairings and schedules. They work one-on-one or two-on-one with students every day for 30 to 45 minutes.

Reading Assist looks for students who have been particularly challenging for schools and may not have made progress with other interventions. Reading Assist works with each school to identify students who may be a good fit, then uses an independent evaluator to provide a baseline benchmark. Reading Assist and the school review the data together before making final student placement decisions.

Fellows are often recent college graduates taking a gap year to serve or explore a career in education. Some are retirees looking to give back to their community.

Reading Assist is designed to be a turnkey solution. Reading Assist staff manage instructional coaching and administrative support for each fellow. Fellows are assigned coaches who meet with them weekly to review student progress and ensure lesson plans are tailored to student needs. Reading Assist also manages required paperwork and background checks.

Reading Assist uses Acadience, also known as DIBELS Next, to monitor and benchmark student progress. Fellows complete weekly progress monitoring. Three times a year, Reading Assist assesses students against reading benchmarks.

Reading Assist provides regular student progress reports to school leadership and faculty. Fellows also track weekly progress monitoring scores, which can be shared at any point. Reading Assist’s instructional leadership team is available for deeper conversations about overall and individual student progress.

Schools provide instructional space for fellows and a schedule that allows fellows to pull students throughout the school day. Reading Assist can provide templates and scheduling support. Schools are also encouraged to include fellows in meetings and events so they can be part of the school community.

Yes. Reading Assist provides financial compensation for all fellows. Many of our fellows serve through the AmeriCorps model, making them eligible for additional federal education awards upon completing their service term.

Reading Assist is funded in part by AmeriCorps and supported by local foundations, which helps keep school partner contributions as low as possible. For our flagship program, two fellows typically cost less than a single paraprofessional for a full school year. School contributions vary based on the number of fellows, program model, and length of the agreement.

Contact Us to Learn More About Pricing

Partner Spotlight

  • “Mr. Deon has been an extraordinary asset to our MTSS framework and early literacy efforts. … He approaches intervention with precision, using data to target foundational reading gaps in decoding, fluency, and comprehension, while maintaining high expectations for every student he serves. … Mr. Deon’s collaboration with classroom teachers strengthens our Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports, ensuring alignment and maximizing impact.”
    Garfield Elementary
    Washington, DC
  • “These ladies have been incredibly flexible and responsive—adjusting schedules, welcoming new students, and supporting learners across the building whenever needed. … Even as we continue to navigate shortages in teacher support, we are incredibly grateful—and proud—to have Bethani and Shannon as part of our Booker T. Washington family.”
    Booker T. Washington Elementary
    Dover, DE
  • “Kenya has joined our school very recently, but she has made a great impact already. She jumped right into the swing of things here at Magnolia with minimal assistance. She is proactive, dependable, and caring. We are so thankful for the care and support she provides each student.”
    Magnolia School
    Magnolia, NJ
  • “The students really enjoy working with Mr. Yakir. He is flexible and adjusts as needed to our often changing schedule.”
    St. Raymond of Penafort
    Philadelphia, PA
  • “I’m grateful as well for organizations like Reading Assist that continue to invest in time, energy, and commitment to support students and their families…and that work happens one student at a time, one classroom at a time, one school and community at a time.”
    Cindy Marten
    Secretary, Delaware Department of Education
Reading Assist team and partners standing outside Harmony Project building in Washington DC

Bring Reading Assist to Your School or District

Reading Assist partners with schools and districts to provide high-impact tutoring, progress monitoring, and literacy support for K–3 students who need intensive intervention.

Learn About School & District Partnerships

Expand Reading Support Beyond the School Day

Reading Assist works with community partners to bring structured literacy support to more students in accessible, community-based settings.

Learn About Community Partnerships
Reading Assist Fellow with student in classroom literacy learning environment