SitStayRead

Our mission is to improve literacy skills using an engaging curriculum, dedicated volunteers, and certified dogs. Yes, you read that right- dogs! Since 2003, we have been working to increase reading fluency, build comprehension skills, improve written expression, establish positive attitudes towards reading and writing, and develop an understanding of and connection with animals through our grade-level literacy programming. We serve Kindergarten, first, second, and third grades in under-resourced Chicago Public Schools, targeting our partnerships at schools that serve students with less access to resources. In the 2018-19 school year, 94.4% of SitStayRead partner school students came from low-income households and 73% of third-graders scored below the national average in reading, according to Chicago Public School data. It is important to us to make literacy accessible and equitable to all! The core of our programming lies in our curriculum. We use a curriculum designed to support key literacy skills at each grade level. Each program is created in partnership with our Program Advisory Committee, which includes SitStayRead staff, volunteers, teachers, and faculty from the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Literacy, University of Chicago, DePaul University, and Northeastern Illinois University, and is built using Common Core standards. Each program uses dog-themed books and materials and incorporates different reading and writing skills and initiatives. We believe that routine assessment of our programs is important to make sure we are providing programming that really makes an impact. We partner with the Department of School Psychology at Loyola University Chicago annually for program assessment to ensure their effectiveness and to give us a picture of where the students are and what their needs are.