History
Started in 2004 at the request of the Coachella Valley Unified School District Superintendent of Schools, Roberta and Clay Klein started a fund at the Desert Community Foundation and asked the pastor of their church for his assistance in recruiting volunteers. Father Howard Lincoln of Sacred Heart Church readily agreed. The District had been using English speaking volunteers to the extent, they could get them to go into the schools in the district that had no English speaking people in the community. Roberta asked the Superintendent if he would provide buses if they could recruit volunteers who were fluent in English through churches and other organizations.
Read With Me was born and now brings volunteers from seven churches to five different schools. The schools are all in areas of high poverty with a majority of the parents untrained in academic English. They love their children but cannot help them with English.
In 2013, Read With Me received a Golden Bell Award for English Acquisition from the California School Board Association. We believe the program is totally replicable in other areas that face similar challenges in providing tutoring and mentoring for disadvantaged children in a classroom setting.
What we do
In the classroom, the teacher assigns individual volunteers to selected students to listen to them read, assisting them with pronunciation and comprehension. The mentor/tutors are typically retired part-time Coachella Valley residents, some with special skills who help specific students go beyond the basic.
Read With Me
Honored with the Golden Bell award for English Acquisition by the California School Board Association and the 2022 GuideStar Silver Seal of Transparency
Volunteer Programs
As part of increased student security protocols, our sponsoring school districts now require volunteers to submit fingers as well as a TB Assessment form before they can interact with students.
“The new requirements cover the Coachella Valley Unified, Desert Sands, and Palm Springs districts,” said Sean Webb. RWM’s Executive Director. “They are part of an on-going effort to assure students are always in a safe and secure environment.
“The RWM leadership is working with the volunteer coordinators and the districts to make the process as convenient as possible. I highly recommend that every volunteer read closely the CVUSD Volunteer Information Packet that is attached to understand the requirements fully.”
Key to the fingerprinting requirement is completing a Live Scan form. The completed form must be taken to Live Scan location in California. (A list is contained in the CVUSD Volunteer Information Package). The live scan location will forward the results to the school district for secure storage. The fingerprints will be used to assure that volunteers do not have a criminal record that could represent a security threat to students.
Should you wish to request a reimbursement of the cost of the Live Scan, simply provide a copy of your receipt copies to Noemi Guitron, along with your name, address, and phone number. A reimbursement check will be sent to the address provided within 2-3 weeks. Noemi Guitron Read With Me Operations Administrator 1254 Black Sea Ave Thermal, CA 992274 readwithmenoemi@gmail.com (760) 578-961
A TB Assessment Form is located in the CV Volunteer Information Package. It must be signed by a physician. It is not necessary for the physician to be located in California.
Again, please review the Information Package for important details about the new requirements and direct any questions to Noemi Guitron.