Reading Allies: Miami Valley

Reading Allies is an innovative nonprofit literacy program that helps first, second, and third-grade students who are reading below grade level gain the skills they need to meet grade-level standards.

Reading Allies: Miami Valley continues that mission: delivering tailored, community-supported tutoring that moves children from struggling readers to thriving readers - one student, one relationship, one session at a time.

Here's How It Works

Structured 10-Week Sessions: Volunteers engage one-on-one with students for ~30 minutes per session, typically across two sessions per week (i.e. around 10 weeks per semester).

Specialist-Designed Lessons: Each session follows curricula created by Reading Allies specialists, focusing on phonics, vocabulary, spelling, writing, and comprehension.

Progress You Can Measure: Across the Reading Allies model, about 80% of students meet or exceed grade-level reading standards after a year of participation.

Making a Difference, One Child at a Time

In West Carrollton, Reading Allies: Miami Valley is more than a literacy program - it’s a network of relationships, confidence building, and community.

In the Fall 2024 semester, 12 students - most reading at an emerging kindergarten level - were paired one-on-one with 15 trained community volunteers for 10 weeks of individualized literacy instruction.

Fall Results:

+239.6%

average growth in text/reading level

+137.5%

average growth in phonics skills

Students more than doubled their literacy proficiency.

In the Spring 2025 semester, 16 students participated with support from 24 volunteers.

Spring Results:

+93.4%

average growth in text/reading level

+59.3%

average growth in phonics skills

Testimonial

Dan Bir, a longtime local business owner and Reading Allies volunteer, shared his experience working on this program:

"Whether it was mentoring or helping a student learn to read, it all came down to one thing: building relationships. I met my student, a bright young boy who had some ups and downs. I learned to adjust my approach based on his mood, meet him on his level, and start each session by talking about what he liked—usually sports. That connection made all the difference."

Dan and his wife both volunteered in the launch year of Reading  Allies: Miami Valley, meeting with their students twice a week for 30-minute reading lessons. These sessions combined phonics, vocabulary, and spelling. But what truly made the program impactful was the one-on-one attention. Inspired by his experience, Dan decided to continue partnering with MVLF as a mentor through MVLF’s Mentoring2Thrive program.

Mentoring Anchor