Virtual Virtual
How One Afterschool Program Helped 1,500 Students Become Better Readers — and How Yours Can Too
Feb 9, 2027
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET
Afterschool programs are uniquely positioned to help children who are struggling to read—but creating a literacy program that works takes more than adding another reading activity.
In this session, we’ll look inside the literacy model developed by Roots & Wings in Palm Beach County, which has brought reading support to more than 1,500 students across dozens of classrooms. Participants will learn how the program combined committed school leadership, teachers who already knew their students, engaging reading practice, community support, and measurable student progress to produce substantial improvements in reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension.
Most importantly, we’ll break the model into practical components that other afterschool organizations can adapt to their own communities—how to identify the students and schools where you can have the greatest impact, engage teachers and families, motivate students to read, select effective instructional resources, measure whether the program is working, and build community partnerships that help sustain it.
Participants will leave with a framework they can use to think through their own literacy challenge and begin building a reading initiative that fits their students, staff, and community.