The ability to read is crucial. In grades one through three, students learn to read, but once they enter fourth grade, they read in order to learn everything else. Casa del Lago’s After School Reading Program provides high-quality reading intervention to students in first through third grade who struggle in reading so that they can be equipped to read at grade level and thrive in school. Of the students who completed the 2022-2023 program year, 89.4% demonstrated measurable progress in important literacy skills, such as letter names and sounds, that help them to approach reading at their appropriate grade level.

Students receive intervention in small groups of six students maximum, and they rotate every 15 minutes through three stations that focus on:

• reading practice and comprehension, 

• phonics and decoding, 

• and listening and vocabulary. 

In addition to the reading intervention, students also receive a snack, help with their school homework, and Christ-centered teaching from the Bible. After School Reading volunteers help with set-up and tear-down, build relationships with the students, and, primarily, serve as Reading Buddies. They read books aloud one-on-one with several students and interact with students while reading to further cement the intervention they receive in the stations.

To register, volunteer, or to learn more, contact our director Hayleigh Hicks.