SMART Reading

The intention of SMART Reading is to positively impact literacy outcomes by providing early reading support, access to books, and community engagement in an equitable and inclusive environment for everyone involved.

The program concept is simple: pair an adult volunteer with children for shared reading sessions and provide children with books to keep. Volunteers model the joy of reading while supporting the child’s efforts to read independently.

SMART Reading offers two main delivery models to accommodate different educational needs and environments: One-to-One SMART, which pairs a student and a volunteer to read together, and Classroom SMART, which brings in a special guest volunteer to read to the entire classroom on a regular basis.

In July 2022, the Children’s Book Bank merged with SMART Reading.The Children’s Book Bank at SMART Reading is located in Northeast Portland. We accept new and gently used book donations from the community, then organize volunteers to sort, clean, and distribute books. In addition, we purchase supplemental books with diverse representation to better meet the needs of the children and families we serve.