The Jewish Coalition for Literacy (JCL)

JCL mobilizes volunteer reading partners to shareled the pleasures of reading one to one with an elementary school child, while helping the child to experience success. Our mission is to empower children with potential to appreciate the written and spoken word; to give the child the opportunity to share the joy of reading and expressing themselves to an adult that listens and enjoys learning with that child.

JCL is a nondenominational program that recruits volunteer reading partners to read one to one with students in New Haven Public Schools, kindergarten through fourth grade, for an hour a week, to share the pleasures of reading and conversing together. The volunteer chooses the day, time and grade at one of JCL's partner schools: Columbus Family Academy, Nathan Hale, Barnard, Edgewood, Davis, Mauro-Sheridan and Katherine Brennan-Clarence Rogers. No experience is needed. JCL is an award-winning project of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven. JCL: helping our community, one child at a time.