We had the good fortune of connecting with Amber Martin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amber, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind the success of Reading Partners is our model, our Americorps members, and volunteers. Reading Partners is a national nonprofit, with a region in North Texas. Reading Partners is contracted by Dallas and Fort Worth Independent School Districts (ISDs) to help students who are struggling with reading. We train community volunteers, who then deliver our program curriculum to students within a classroom setting. In 2020-2021, Reading Partners launched Reading Partners Connects an online version of traditional programming.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets Reading Partners apart from others is our model. We work within our schools, where we train community volunteers to offer 1-1 tutoring to students. Reading Partners staff and Americorps members assist in identifying partnerships – both school partners and community partners – to help North Texas students who are striving to read at grade level.

The work we do is not easy, but very vital. Each year, Reading Partners engages over 1,000 volunteers and over 500 students. To do our work, we rely on our Americorps members and community volunteers. In recent years, Americorps recruitment has been low, and with the impacts of COVID, recruiting community volunteers has been challenging.

To combat the challenges of COVID, Reading Partners adopted a new online platform that mirrors the traditional program model. The online option is built around the same 1-1 student/tutor model.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Reading Partners believes that all children deserve the opportunity to succeed. Through strong community partnerships, Reading Partners is tiredlessly working to ensure that all students in North Texas – no matter their background – have the opportunity to lead happy, healthy, and successful lives.

Website: https://readingpartners.org/location/north-texas/

Instagram: @ReadingPartnersNorthTexas

Linkedin: @ReadingPartnersNorthTexas

Twitter: @ReadingPartnersNorthTexas

Facebook: @ReadingPartnersNorthTexas

Youtube: @ReadingPartnersNorthTexas

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutDFW is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.