What We Do

Mission

The Reading Team helps children in New York’s underserved neighborhoods become strong readers and develop the skills and habits that will support their success in school and in life.

Since the organization opened its doors in 2001, our evidence-based literacy programs led by trained, paid teaching staff have helped thousands of children from economically challenged backgrounds achieve substantial and lasting academic success.

The hallmark of our programs for children PreK through Grade 5 is early intervention, before a lack of success in school dampens the children’s inherent enthusiasm for learning. We apply a whole-language approach, featuring five pillars of reading science: phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.

Our After-School Program provides 450 hours a year of literacy-nurturing instruction and activities—that’s 2,700 hours from Grades K-5. The program meets at our W. 125th Street classroom headquarters. There, students identified by teachers, administrators, or caregivers as struggling readers get the instruction they need to catch up (and often to exceed benchmarks). The After-School Program meets weekdays from 3-5:30 pm on all New York City Department of Education school days.

Our Preschool Program helps children master the key building blocks of future literacy success. Twice a week during morning hours we send trained Literacy Coaches into Harlem classrooms of 3- and 4-year-olds for one-hour sessions.