Classmates become reading coaches, helping younger students succeed
By Cameron Polom
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AVONDALE, AZ (KNXV) — In classrooms across Arizona, some of the most effective reading coaches aren’t adults, they’re the boys and girls across the hall.
The nonprofit Read Better Be Better is pairing kindergarten through third-grade students with trained fourth through eighth-grade “leaders” for structured, twice-weekly afterschool reading sessions.
The result isn’t just story time, it’s measurable progress.
A new independent evaluation found that participating students are making stronger gains in foundational reading skills than their peers, with third graders in the program even scoring higher on Arizona’s English Language Arts exam.
It’s a simple idea with powerful results, older students building confidence in younger ones, while strengthening their own leadership skills along the way.
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