Brilliant Cities x Scholastic R.E.A.L. Literacy Mentor Volunteer Program

Brilliant Cities is a neighborhood-powered model ensuring children 0-8 are school-ready, healthy, and supported. We do this by transforming houses into family-focused, community hubs and partner with organizations to coordinate research-based programs for children and families. These programs focus on education, health, and family support, giving young children and families what they need for a bright future.

Our Brilliant hubs are offering the Scholastic R.E.A.L. (Read, Excel, Achieve, Lead) Program, an 8-week, literacy-focused mentoring initiative that uses high-quality, diverse books and companion guides to support children’s academic success through interactive read-alouds and book discussions.

As a R.E.A.L. mentor, you will promote:

• Increased language development
• Comprehension of story content
• Knowledge of story structure
• A stronger understanding of language

…all of which lead to literacy success!

R.E.A.L. mentors will receive all Scholastic training materials, including Mentor Success Guides that correspond with each read-aloud book, as well as an orientation with our literacy programming lead. As the program progresses, students will receive take-home activities, family guides, and celebration materials to further enhance their engagement with the readings.

While a love for literacy is a must, no prior teaching experience is required. If you’re interested in facilitating read-aloud sessions and working with our Brilliant kids, we would love for you to join us in our upcoming R.E.A.L. program!

Program Requirements:

• 8-week time commitment (1 hour per week); scheduling is dependent on location, but will typically fall between Tues-Thurs, 3-6 p.m.
• Completion of our volunteer onboarding process, including a background check and review of our Volunteer Handbook
• Participation in a training/orientation with our programming team prior to the start date

Once you submit an interest form via Idealist, a member of our Volunteer Team will reach out to you via email to go over the next steps in our onboarding and placement process.