About

For typical Read Alliance students—from low-income homes in New York City’s most disadvantaged communities—the learning stops when the school day ends. The result? 60% of children in inner city school districts nationwide, including a large proportion of New York City’s public school population and 100% of Read Alliance students, read below grade level. Without intervention, the achievement gap between these at-risk students and their peers will continue to grow, with detrimental effects on achievements later in life. In fact, studies show that struggling readers from low-income communities are 13 times less likely to complete high school than their peers who read proficiently.

Read Alliance works to improve the educational trajectory of these at-risk kindergarten and first grade students through one-to-one tutoring in basic reading skills. 

We foster individual literacy by addressing the lack of early language and literacy experiences, enabling our kindergarten and first grade students, regardless of their baseline levels, to master grade level skills in phonics and fluency. Since our founding in 2000, we've served more than 10,000 struggling students across all five boroughs of New York City, most from the city’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods, including Bedford Stuyvesant, Harlem and the South Bronx. We are proud to share that, on average, Read Alliance students gain more than one year’s growth in basic reading skills at this crucial time in early education.

What makes our program especially unique is that teens are recruited and trained to provide the tutoring. Using a well-structured, research-based curriculum called Reading for All Learners Program (RALP), our tutors work one-to-one with our students after school and during the summer. To this end, not only does Read Alliance shrink the achievement gap by providing economically disadvantaged, at-risk students with basic reading skills, but we also have provided more than 8,500 teens with the opportunity to develop critical college, career, and life skills through formal training, continuous support and meaningful paid tutoring jobs. Our vision is to prepare two at-risk populations for continued academic and life achievement.

New Name, New Look, Same Strong Results:

Ten years ago, we launched as the Reading Excellence and Discovery Foundation, which was shortened in recent years to READ. Our new name, Read Alliance, more deeply reflects the many partners that work together to yield strong and consistent results for the children, teens and schools that we serve.

History

We launched our program in 1999 and have grown in leaps and bounds since then. Read more

Recognition

We are routinely honored for our dedication to advancing at-risk students. Read more

Management Team

Our hard-working staff ensures that we reach our goals. Read more

Board of Directors

The work we do would not be possible without the support and guidance of our Board of Directors and Board of Advisors. Read more

Leadership Council

Made up of professionals from diverse industries, the LC hosts annual fundraising events and volunteer activities. Read more 

Join Our Team

Check to see if we're hiring for full time positions. Read more