January 25, 2023  3:30 a.m.

With data from the Oregon Department of Education showing the devastating impact the pandemic had on student learning, children’s literacy nonprofit SMART Reading is seeking volunteers to read with kids.

SMART is wanting to ramp up service in the region. Area Director for SMART Southwest Region Della Harp said assessment data released in the fall revealed that all students, across all groups, lost ground in reading and math achievement between 2019 and 2022. Harp said the state as a whole saw passing rates on reading exams fall almost 10 percentage points.

Harp said, “Given what children have faced with the pandemic, the personalized reading support and access to books that SMART provides is more important than ever”.

A release said this school year, SMART has reinstated in-person programming alongside some virtual reading options, allowing schools to select models that best fit their student’s needs. In Douglas County, SMART is poised to serve more than 600 local students with two research backed ingredients for student literacy success: shared reading time and access to books.

Volunteers are needed in two important roles:

“Readers that are paired with the same child or classroom for hour-long weekly reading sessions

*Site Coordinators to dedicate two to eight hours per week to act as SMART’s on-the-ground leads at each site, overseeing and implementing the weekly reading sessions

To learn more and sign up to volunteer, contact the Douglas County SMART office at 672-6477 or go to: www.SMARTReading.org