Dive Into Reading
GET INVOLVED
We need your help! This program is made possible by the support of community partners and volunteer mentors. If you’d like to create a positive impact on a child’s future, please consider becoming a volunteer reading mentor for Dive into Reading.
The time commitment is a minimum of one morning a week from 8:45 am – 10:30 am for 4-5 weeks during June and part of July. (Dates vary a little each year depending on the school district summer school schedule). Of course, we would love if you are able to do more than one weekly shift. All volunteers need to be at least 16 years of age!
Thank you for wanting to help our community’s children!
The Anna Maria Oyster Bars’ Dive into Reading program aims to improve children’s reading levels by combating “Summer Slide.”
Dive into Reading started in the Summer of 2017 when the Anna Maria Oyster Bar in Ellenton invited rising third-graders from two local Title I elementary schools to enjoy a hot breakfast and practice reading with a mentor. In the fall, we were excited to learn that students who completed the program not only beat the “Summer Slide,” but showed an increase in reading proficiency when they returned to school! “Summer Slide” is a loss of reading skills during the summer months that average between 2 to 3 months.
In just its first year, Dive into Reading received an outpouring of community support, winning recognition and awards from the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation, School District of Manatee County, and Manatee Chamber of Commerce. Because of the students’ success and YOUR SUPPORT, we were able to expand significantly since that time.
In 2020 we were able to continue the program virtually because children were not in school. We offered the program via Zoom, twice a day, five days a week for four weeks. 75% of our Dive Into Reading children showed NO reading loss when they returned to school! We were so excited to be able to help our children achieve such outstanding results when so many educational programs were not running.
This summer of 2021, we have been asked to mentor even more children and we look forward to doing it in person and being able to see their shining faces when they run to meet their mentors. We hope you can join us.