About
Reading Partners is a national education nonprofit, headquartered in Oakland, California, that mobilizes community volunteers to provide one-on-one literacy tutoring to elementary school students. Its research-backed programs are grounded in the science of reading and focus on educational equity, ensuring that students build the foundational skills they need to read at grade level. Since its founding in 1999, the organization has delivered more than 3 million individualized tutoring sessions to nearly 90,000 students.
Mission
Reading Partners provides research-backed literacy programs based on the science of reading, with a focus on educational equity, so that students receive the quality reading instruction they need.
What they do
- High-dosage tutoring: students meet with tutors twice weekly for maximum growth
- Individualized instruction: personalized attention with targeted, customized literacy learning
- Science of reading curriculum, including systematic phonics education
- Systematic data collection, analysis, and impact reporting
- Direct tutoring in the SF Bay Area, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Tulsa, North Texas, South Carolina, the Mid-Atlantic, and New York City, plus "Powered by Reading Partners" programs in cities including Seattle, Newark, Detroit, New Haven, San Jose, Denver, and Memphis
History
Reading Partners began in 1999, when community leaders Mary Wright Shaw, Molly McCrory, and Jean Bacigalupi launched a one-on-one tutoring initiative at Belle Haven Community School in Menlo Park, California. The program incorporated as YES Reading, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, in 2001, and was renamed Reading Partners in 2008 as it expanded to Los Angeles. It received its first AmeriCorps grant in 2010, and a 2014 MDRC randomized control trial validated the program's effectiveness. During COVID-19 in 2020 the organization built its online tutoring platform, Reading Partners Connects, and in 2022 it surpassed 2.5 million tutoring sessions delivered.
Scale and impact
Figures published by Reading Partners:
- Nearly 90,000 elementary school students reached
- 3 million+ individualized literacy tutoring sessions delivered
- 100,000+ community volunteers mobilized
- Programs in 11+ regions nationwide
- 88 percent of K-2 students achieved mastery of foundational reading skills needed for grade-level reading (2025-26 school year)
Financials
According to IRS Form 990 data published by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, for the fiscal year ending June 2025 Reading Partners reported total revenue of $30,875,420 and total expenses of $41,475,804, with net assets of $21,254,193. Contributions made up 87.4 percent of revenue ($26.97 million). Reading Partners is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 77-0568469) whose tax exemption was issued in May 2001.
Governance
Adeola Whitney serves as Chief Executive Officer.