History of Read-Aloud

The Read-Aloud Volunteer Program (RAVP) is one educator’s vision made real.  Dr. Marilyn Nye founded RAVP in the school year 1995-1996.  Dr. Nye was a local resident of the bay area and retired Professor of Education at Cal State East Bay whose specialty was international children’s literature.  Elegantly simple but a potent tool for literacy, RAVP began as a pilot program at Downer Elementary School in the West Contra Costa Unified School District.  Its structure is modeled upon the statewide Oregon program called SMART (Start Making A Reader Today).  Dr. Nye was so impressed by a visit to a school using SMART that she returned home and started speaking at churches, to retired teacher’s groups, at Rotary meetings---- any public venue which would hear her about the program.  She then corralled as many of her friends and associates as possible to come to Downer to read to young students at a one on one ratio.  She and her husband funded the program that first year and she volunteered her time as executive director thereafter.  By the end of the first year, Dr. Nye had 50 volunteer readers coming to Downer Elementary School on a weekly basis, providing much needed reading, attention and giving each child two free self selected books per month.  Some of these first volunteers are still reading with us today!

Since 1995, five additional schools have been added to the program:  Dover, Chavez, Coronado, Stege and Washington Elementary.  These schools are all in San Pablo and Richmond, California.  In 2006, our charter school, Downer Elementary, was rebuilt and we had to suspend the program, due to the construction.  We hope to return to the brand new school next year.  In the meantime, the number of volunteers has grown from 50 to over 100 in our four other schools over the fourteen year period.