5-09-2026 8:57am

Read to Succeed needs you

Joseph Genco Editor

Niagara Falls, N.Y. – With the end of the current school year around the corner, Read to Succeed (RTS) is once again recruiting new volunteers from Erie and Niagara Counties to serve as Tutor/Mentors this fall through the organization’s High-Impact Tutoring program known as AARP Foundation Experience Corps.

Since October 2025, 137 current Tutor/Mentors have provided 11,000 individual tutoring sessions to more than 400 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders in Niagara Falls and Buffalo City Schools.

The Experience Corps Program has served struggling young students in the Buffalo Public Schools since 2016 and expanded to Niagara Falls in 2025. Twelve Niagara Falls volunteer Tutor/Mentors are providing one-on-one tutoring to 36 1st and 2nd graders at Bloneva Bond Elementary School. This fall, the goal is to double tutoring services by expanding to 3rd graders in partnership with Harry F. Abate Elementary School. Teachers and RTS Literacy Coaches identify students who are just below grade-level in reading for participation in the one-on-one tutoring.

Read to Succeed is looking to recruit 10 new volunteer Tutor/Mentors for Niagara Falls and 20 for Buffalo. If you are interested in becoming a part of the solution by helping a struggling young child master the mechanics of reading, please visit https://www.readtosucceedbuffalo.org/volunteer-interest-form to get more information and complete an interest form.

“The science of reading dictates that children need to have mastered the basic mechanics of reading by the end of 3rd grade; if they are to be able to read to learn, read for content, in 4th grade and beyond. Unfortunately, far too many of our children, particularly economically disadvantaged children, are not mastering these skills according to NYS 3rd grade ELA assessment data,” stated Read to Succeed Executive Director Anne Ryan. “High-Impact Tutoring provides struggling students with explicit, systematic practice with reading focused on increasing vocabulary, fluency and comprehension at age-appropriate levels.

“After receiving the results of the pilot program and the feedback from staff and volunteers, it was a no-brainer to expand the Experience Corps program to serve more students in our community,” said Stan Wojton, Superintendent Elect, Niagara Falls City Schools. “Implementing High-Impact Tutoring practices helps provide that extra, personalized support some of our students need to develop the skills they require to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade.”

Experience Corps, a partnership between Read to Succeed and the National AARP Foundation, recruits, trains, and supports mature older adult volunteers to provide one-on-one literacy tutoring for children who are not reading at grade-level in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade.

Sessions are very structured and focus on building fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills in students in 1st-3rd grade through repeated reading practice and models of fluent reading. Pre-K and K Tutor/Mentors are trained to focus on developing preliteracy skills such as alphabet knowledge, phonics, and phonemic awareness. Experience Corps strategies and materials are all based on the Science of Reading, and all Tutor/Mentors receive significant training and school-based support from Read to Succeed Literacy Coaches.

If you have a desire to share your lifetime of experience and your love of reading with students who need it the most, please consider joining Read to Succeed’ s Experience Corps. Your time and talents can change a child’s life – the experience may even change your own!

For those interested in learning more about the Experience Corps program, RTS is hosting three additional information sessions.