Community Reading Buddies: Summer Reading Support That’s Fun and Free
Give your child a literacy boost this summer with Community Reading Buddies (a 30-year-old non-profit organization in the Bay Area)! We offer engaging, one-on-one elementary reading sessions with a caring teen who we train to become a reading mentor for elementary students in our community. It’s free, flexible, and proven to help young readers thrive.
Our program is simple: we pair one middle- or high-school student with one elementary student each reading session. The older students are given pre-planned lessons, skills, and supplemental reading options that are personalized for the younger students. The lessons and quality reading time help younger students develop a love of reading with the help of their new buddy. On average, elementary students see 4 months of growth in their reading skills and fluency during our 2 month program. And over the summer, the added benefit is that this continued reading practice for students helps address the summer slide.
This summer, we are offering virtual and in-person options that take place throughout each weekday. Students are asked to join twice per week (Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday) at the time they choose for 1 hour of reading support with their high-school mentor. Students will use our digital literacy platform, BookNook, in their reading sessions. This platform assesses student reading levels and supplies lessons that focus on the skills they need to practice and build to meet grade-level requirements.
The virtual sessions take place on Zoom and students only need a working computer and a wifi connection to join. The in-person sessions take place at 2 Oakland libraries (West Oakland or 81st Ave.). Students will need to get to the libraries to participate, but we will provide computers and books so they won't need to have any other supplies to join. Both types of sessions will run from June 9 until July 24, 2025.
To learn more and apply, head to our LinkTree (https://linktr.ee/readingbuddiesbayarea.). The elementary student application is the top link.
There are still openings in all of our free summer reading sessions for elementary students across the Bay Area. Here is our summer schedule:
Monday AND Wednesday at 11:15am–12:15pm on ZOOM
Monday AND Wednesday at 2:15pm–3:15pm on ZOOM
Monday AND Wednesday at 4:15pm–5:15pm on ZOOM
Monday AND Wednesday at 6:15pm-7:15pm on ZOOM
Tuesday AND Thursday at 11:15am–12:15pm on ZOOM
Tuesday AND Thursday at 2:15pm–3:15pm on ZOOM
Tuesday AND Thursday at 4:15pm–5:15pm on ZOOM
Tuesday AND Thursday at 6:15pm-7:15pm on ZOOM
Mondays AND Wednesdays at 12:30–1:30pm at West Oakland Public Library Branch (1801 Adeline Street)
Tuesdays AND Thursdays at 12:30–1:30pm at 81st Ave. Oakland Public Library Branch (1021 81st Ave)