When Sonia Castellani was introduced to Reading Partners by a previous site coordinator, she was excited about the opportunity to help get a new program established at Parkway Elementary. Sonia is a busy woman, working 40 to 60 hours a week and acknowledges that some days it can be difficult to make it to her tutoring sessions. But, she is dedicated to showing her student — by her own example — that it takes commitment to achieve things. Sonia believes Reading Partners is important because it provides the needed one-to-one time that struggling students need to grow in their reading skills.

Dennis Boyd had some reservations when he began volunteering with Reading Partners; Dennis was a bit concerned about his ability to motivate students to love reading. He quickly learned that his students would motivate him! “Alina and Ruben have equally dismissed any concerns I had on how I would go about motivating students to want to engage and find the thrill of what reading can bring. My concerns disappeared at the outset and it was I who soon rediscovered that thrill through their enthusiasm.” While Dennis thought the time reading aloud to students would be the most fun, he tells us that he never tires of seeing Ruben’s eyes light up as he works through sounds and syllables until he suddenly knows he has it right. Alina’s Russian heritage means she has to work a little harder at reading, but she’s always determined to do it on her own and doesn’t know anything about giving up. She loves reading and wants to share with Dennis, in detail, all that she reads.