If you’re an adult who loves children and loves to read, the Humboldt County Office of Education hopes you’ll volunteer for a program now in its second year, designed to help kindergartners become successful readers.

The Kindergarten Literacy Partner program will place adult volunteer Partners in kindergarten classrooms at a nearby school. Partners will be asked to be available for one hour twice a week to read with two to three children, spending 15 to 20 minutes with each child. The volunteers will work with just one teacher. They will get to know each child, then read and discuss a book one-on-one at each visit. After follow-up training, volunteers will also write down short stories with each child and then read the stories back together.

Currently, target schools are Redway School, Alice Birney School, Grant School, Peninsula School, and South Bay School in Eureka, Eagle Prairie Elementary School in Rio Dell, Loleta Elementary School, South Fortuna Elementary School, as well as schools in the Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District; Arcata Elementary, Pacific Union and Morris Schools are also participating. Other school placements are available if no target school is nearby.

Linda Hill, a specialist in early literacy with the Humboldt County Office of Education, is coordinating the program. She explained that the goal of the Kindergarten Literacy Partner program will be to help kindergartners develop an early love of reading and language and to help them to feel successful and secure at school.

”This is a prevention program,” said Hill. “We want children to have enjoyable experiences with books so that they can become successful readers. Second, we want to help kids build close relationships at school and make their school experience a positive one.”

All Kindergarten Literacy Partners will be asked to participate in an orientation and training. In addition, each will receive the standard tuberculosis screening and fingerprint background check needed by school volunteers. Costs of the screenings will be reimbursed by the Office of Education.

There will be a two-hour orientation at the Humboldt County Office of Education in the Sequoia Room, on Monday, October 26, from 10 a.m. to noon. Prior to the orientation, from 9:30 to 10 a.m., school nurses will be doing tuberculosis testing.

On Thursday, October 29, there will be a two-hour training session from 10 a.m. to noon. The session will be in the Humboldt County Office of Education’s Resource Center Conference Room. The Humboldt County Office of Education is located at 901 Myrtle Avenue in Eureka.

All interested volunteers are encouraged to sign up prior to October 21. Although all adult volunteers are welcome, there is a special need for two volunteers in the Eureka and Fortuna area who are bilingual in English and Spanish. Kindergarten Literacy Partners over age 55 may also sign up as R.S.V.P (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) volunteers through the Volunteer Center of the Redwoods to receive a reimbursement of up to $25 a month to help with travel expenses. Hill advises those who want to volunteer in a school that is not currently participating to call her, as she will be adding schools in the future.

For more information, or to sign up to be a Kindergarten Literacy Partner, call Linda Hill at the Humboldt County Office of Education, 707-441-4630.