At 11 am, Leslie Gradet brings “Chesco,” a third grader at Paden Elementary School, up from his classroom on the first floor to her reading station on the school’s second floor. Bright eyed and a little shy, Chesco slips into his seat and quickly writes out the alphabet on a hand-held whiteboard. “Can you sing it?” Gradet prompts, and Chesco responds with a soft rendition of the alphabet song while Leslie beams.

Gradet is a member of the volunteer reading program at Paden Elementary School. Managed by reading intervention teacher Betsy Weiss, the program currently boasts nine volunteers comprised primarily of retired teachers, parents, and grandparents who tutor children several days per week.  Their consistent support is key to helping students develop literacy skills that will help them throughout their education.

“Each volunteer works one on one with students by listening to them read and discussing vocabulary to build their comprehension,” Weiss explains. “Depending on the grade level, they may also work on building fluency with sight words, learning letter names and sounds, handwriting and writing.”  

“Dedication and patience”

After warming up with the alphabet, Chesco begins reading “Mat’s Gum,” part of Scholastic’s “BOB” book series for beginning readers. Gradet coaches him on sounding out new words by the letters he already knows. “So if we have the sound ‘uh’ and we put a ‘b’ at the end, yes, we have ‘ub,’” she says encouragingly. “And then if we put an ‘r’ in front, what do we have? That’s right – ‘rub.’”  But she also helps them understand idioms and punctuation. “If that symbol is there, we say it in an excited voice!” she models. “And if that symbol is there? Our voice goes up at the end to ask a question?  Like this?” 

“Volunteers like Leslie—whose dedication, patience, and warmth truly shine—create a comforting environment where students can practice reading independently while receiving immediate feedback on fluency and pronunciation,” notes Paden Principal Tri Nguyen. “Many of our volunteers bring backgrounds in education and teaching, and they thoughtfully apply their expertise to ensure students benefit from meaningful, repeated practice.”

Learning to read on screen

Gradet’s own volunteer journey began in Maryland, after she retired from her job as a court administrator in 2013. As part of the STAIR reading program in Annapolis, she learned to provide steady, loving support to students who were not yet reading at grade level. When she moved to Alameda in 2018, she joined the Jewish Coalition for Literacy (JCL) and then was assigned to Paden as a tutor.

Two short years later, COVID sent AUSD teachers and students home, and Gradet began her one-to-one work online.  “There were some challenges – like how to show a picture book on screen, and one student was so shy she didn’t want to be on screen,” she says. But eventually Gradet found books that the students liked and the students warmed to the task. In fact, Gradet is still reading and talking with some of those students, who are now in 8th grade.

“One of the things that I find so impressive about Leslie is that she didn't miss a beat when the COVID pandemic started,” Weiss says, “and she continued working with students online afterwards - not only the next year but also, for some students, when they went to middle school and even if they moved out of Alameda.”

“An essential role”

Gradet says she has learned two primary lessons from her tutoring. The first is you never know when a child will start reading. “They can be not getting it, not getting it, not getting it,” she explains, “and then all of a sudden, they’re reading.  Each student has different needs and needs different strategies.”

The second is to be patient and understand the complex factors that can affect a child’s ability to learn. “I have been a singer for a long time,’ she says, “but I didn’t start learning to read music until a few years ago. I have struggled with it, because it’s a whole different language. I think of that sometimes, how  reading letters and words is as challenging for some children as reading notes and counting time and rhythm is for me.”

 After reading one BOB book, Gradet tells Chesco, “OK, we finished the fifth book. Should we go on to number 6?” “Yes!” Chesco says (and he says it with the clear sounds of an exclamation point at the end).

“I am deeply thankful for the time our volunteers generously give and incredibly grateful for their contributions,” Principal Nguyen says. “ Their hours of support make a difference in our students’ progress and success, and they play an essential role in our readers’ continued growth and development.”