BEFORE Before Reader Theater Literacy Program Sponsored by Young Minds Building Success Charities, Inc.

WHO WE ARE We are a cultural arts and education tutoring and mentoring program. We are a team of professional, creative, and dedicated individuals. A key advantage of our nonprofit is an extensive knowledge base and hands on experience with children and young adults ages birth to 22 years. For the last two years, our organization has received an "Excellent" rating in tutoring from the state Department of Education. In , 94% of our students tutored in reading met or exceeded their student learning plan goals. In , 91% of our students met or exceeded their student learning plan goals. Based on post-test data, in , our students made an average of +9 academic gains per benchmark. In , our students made an average +7 academic gains per benchmark. In school year, report card grades improved an average of 12% for our students. Young Minds Building Success Charities, Inc. is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Young Minds Building Success Charities' tax identification number is

What We Are Trying To Do “Readers Theatre is a style of theater in which the performers do or do not memorize their lines. Performers use only vocal expression to help the audience understand the story rather than visual storytelling such as sets, costumes, and intricate blocking”. Research has shown that "Reader Theater" can improve student comprehension, fluency, and enjoyment of reading (Trainin & Andrzejczak, 2006). We want to use reader theater as a creative tool to improve literacy and comprehension skills of children and young adults. This initiative is facilitated by an extensive educational knowledge base and hands on experience with children and young adults. This project combines tutoring in reading and reader theater performance to provide a high- quality, research-based instructional program designed to increase student academic achievement. "Research has shown the effectiveness of phonics instruction, guided reading, independent reading, informal feedback, interim assessments, expert tutoring, and extended time allotted to reading" (Reeves, 2008, p. 91). The purpose of this reader theater program is to enable students to bring a text to life and together create a powerful interpretation. The program offers less confident readers support from peers and provides a genuine purpose for focused reading. It also provides students with models for creating the voice behind the page in their own personal reading.

What We Need To Do It We need funding for program aspects such as curriculum, tutors/facilitators, facilities, supplies, and operations. We need support from students, families, teachers, school administrators, communities, small businesses, corporations, and governmental agencies to help make the program a success. All curriculum is age/grade level appropriate and research based. The “Reader Theater” performance reading will be selected based on age appropriate books from the approved “Reading Rainbow Collection”. Each student receives 25 hours of instruction. The individual program cost per student is $570.

Why Our Team Is The One To Do It We are the best team to handle this project because we have the passion, skills, and vision to make unlimited use of the project's platform to improve students, families, and communities. The six primary members of our organization have provided educational services for prekindergarten to young adults for a minimum of 20+ years. Three of the members are Florida certified teachers, one member has a Masters in Education, one member is a social psychologist with a Masters in Counseling, two members have an MBA (Masters in Business Administration), and three members are professional poets and readers. All lead classroom facilitators have an AS (Associate of Science) degree or higher. In , 94% of our students tutored in reading met or exceeded their student learning plan goals. In , 91% of our students met or exceeded their student learning plan goals. Based on post-test data, in , our students made an average of +9 academic gains per benchmark. In , our students made an average +7 academic gains per benchmark. In school year, report card grades improved an average of 12% for our students.

For More Information For more information, contact Tangela Floyd, Executive Director: ; Emanuel Washington, Creative Director: , Sylvia Moore, Curriculum Director: , Deborah Hall, Administrative Assistant: ; Young Minds Building Success Charities, Inc. is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Young Minds Building Success Charities' tax identification number is

References Reeves, D. (2008). The leadership challenge in literacy. Educational Leadership, 65(7), Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database Trainin, G., & Andrzejczak, N. (2006). Reader’s theater: A viable reading strategy. Ed.D. University of Nebraska, United States-Nebraska. Retrieved January 10, 2014, from