Shumate tours Reading Partners

State Senator Jabar Shumate

Reading Partners, a national education nonprofit organization that provides volunteer-led literacy tutoring to students reading behind grade level, welcomed Oklahoma State Senator Jabar Shumate of District 11 to one of its newly launched reading centers this month. Reading Partners delivers an effective, research-validated program that has helped thousands of children master the fundamental reading skills they need to succeed in school and beyond.

Shumate visited the organization’s reading center at Anderson Elementary this month to observe how the literacy program was being implemented during Reading Partners’ first year of operation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Shumate was born and raised in Tulsa, and is a key advocate for students in the Senate District 11. "I am really impressed with the quality and high expectation for results Reading Partners Tulsa has set,” said Shumate, D-Tulsa.  “I am also impressed with their commitment to young people in my district. I know they are going to inspire life-long learning in our students."

The Senator has signed up to volunteer with Reading Partners as a substitute tutor in his spare time.

Within District 11 of Oklahoma, Reading Partners is currently working in Anderson, Jackson, Kendall-Whittier, and Sequoyah Elementary schools. The organization also serves in five other Tulsa Public Schools.

“Support from government and community leaders is essential in improving the educational opportunities for Oklahoma’ students,” said Barry Maxwell, Reading Partners Tulsa Executive Director. “We are deeply grateful for Senator Shumate’s support and active participation as a Reading Partner in our program.”

Reading Partners transforms a dedicated space into a Reading Center, complete with a library and teaching tools managed by a full-time staff member.  The organization collaborates with teachers and principals to identify students reading six months to two and a half years behind grade level, and provide them personalized literacy instruction.

Reading Partners recruits and trains community volunteers to provide weekly one-on-one literacy tutoring using its highly effective curriculum, a series of structured lesson plans that progress from phonics instructions for younger students to higher order comprehension strategies for older students.