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Aspire Education and the Shop with a Cop Foundation of Silicon Valley to Deliver Early Literacy Mentorship

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Aspire Education and the Shop with a Cop Foundation of Silicon Valley to Deliver Early Literacy Mentorship

As two organizations focused on equity, Aspire Education and the Shop with a Cop Foundation of Silicon Valley have come together to address unfinished learning through a new partnership to deliver early literacy mentorship to K-3rd graders of San Jose.

Through Aspires popular and highly effective program Community Reading Buddies, South Bay high schoolers will be trained in social-emotional skills and virtually paired with K-3rd graders to mentor in literacy. The first program in San Jose will begin this summer for 40 students at McKinley Elementary for eight weeks, with students receiving books at the end of the program. The average growth of students in the program over one summer is generally more than a third of a grade level.

“Community Reading Buddies has been effectively serving high-need students in the East Bay for 26 years. We couldn’t be more excited to bring it to the South Bay. We are excited to have found the perfect partner to introduce the program to the community and to encourage and support the students along the way,” said Drew Sokol, Executive Director of Aspire.

The Shop with a Cop Foundation of Silicon Valley’s primary goal is to promote literacy among children, ages 5-12, from under resourced neighborhoods and children who have suffered a traumatic crisis in their lives such as the loss of a parent due to violence or domestic violence in the home. Along the way, they foster mutual respect between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

“We are thrilled to partner with Aspire Education. Aspire has had a proven track record with improving the literacy skills of elementary school children. This past year has been challenging for local school children. They have lost so much learning and the achievement gap has widened,” said Darrell Cortez, Executive Director of the Shop with a Cop Foundation of Silicon Valley. “Our goal is to improve the reading levels of these 40 children. I wish to thank the many donors and grant funders who have invested in this needed program. We could not do this without their financial support.”

School leaders will be essential partners to successfully deliver the program to the students who need it the most. Select schools will be piloting Community Reading Buddies in new areas of the Bay beyond its historic home of Oakland.

Follow this partnership to know when it’s available for your school district by visiting: aspireeducation.org/aspire-newsletter

About Aspire Education

Aspire is a nonprofit on a mission to ensure no Bay Area student will be held back in life due to lack of educational mentorship. Founded in 2006, Aspire has been able to promise – and deliver – real results to more than 15,000 Bay Area students. Through its tutoring programs, Aspire empowers students with the skills to become independent, active learners. Then they’re invited to be trained in social-emotional skills and mentor a younger student in literacy through Community Reading Buddies.

About the Shop with a Cop Foundation of Silicon Valley

The Shop with a Cop Foundation of Silicon Valley’s mission is to promote literacy among children, ages 5-12, from under resourced neighborhoods and children who have suffered a traumatic crisis in their lives such as the loss of a parent due to violence or domestic violence in the home. Shop with a Cop’s philosophy is to foster a continued mutual respect between law enforcement and the communities they serve by engendering trust in the community and humanizing the person behind the badge so children can see police officers through a different lens.                                           

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Media Inquiries:
Aspire Education
Drew Sokol
510-658-7500
dsokol@aspireeducation.org

Shop with a Cop Foundation of Silicon Valley
Darrell Cortez
669-226-2663
info@shopwithacopsv.com

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