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About Us

History & Growth

Reading Partners was founded by three community leaders committed to improving children's literacy and life opportunities. In 1999, Mary Wright Shaw, Molly McCrory and Jean Bacigalupi launched the program at Belle Haven Elementary School in Menlo Park.  Reading Partners would not exist today without the founders' vision, passion and talent to mobilize a community.

Reading Partners Founders

Molly McCrory, Mary Wright Shaw and Jean Bacigalupi - Reading Partners Founders

Mary and Molly continue to be involved as supporters and advisors.  Jean Bacigalupi passed away in 2002.


Growth
Reading Partners strives to reach more children in need by expanding both within existing communities and to other high-need urban areas.

Students Grown from 100 in 2003 to 1,928 in 2010-11
Growing to 2,800 in 2011-12
Volunteers Grown from 80 in 2003 to 2,888 in 2010-11
Growing to over 3,000 in 2011-12
California Partner Schools Grown from 1 in 1999 to 48 in 2011-12
Washington, D.C. Partner Schools Grown from 4 in 2010-11 to 8 in 2011-12


New York Partner Schools Starting with 7 in 2011-12


Budget Grown from $180K in 2003
to $7.9m in 2012



Growth Timeline

1994-1999 Mary Wright Shaw starts a tutoring program to serve the children of Pacific Islander Outreach located in Whiskey Gulch of East Palo Alto, and Molly McCrory and Jean Bacigalupi join Shaw to expand the program. Losing their building with the redevelopment of Whiskey Gulch, they decide to start a new center within Ravenswood School District.
1999-2003 YES Reading Program officially launches with the opening at Belle Haven School in Menlo Park.
2003-2004 The program expands to a second school in Redwood City School District (Selby Lane).

2005-2006 The program expands to schools in Mountain View and San Jose (Mariano Castro & Horace Mann).

YES Reading is honored with the Kent Award for exemplary curriculum development by the San Mateo County School Board Association.

2006-2007 The program expands to San Mateo & Santa Clara (College Park & Montague).

2007-2008 The program expands to San Francisco, East Bay, and East Palo Alto. (Sanchez, Berkley Maynard, and EPACS).

YES Reading changes its name to Reading Partners to better describe its mission.

2008-2009 Reading Partners expands outside of the Bay Area to three schools in Los Angeles (Washington Accelerated, William Green & Aspire Clarendon).

The program also expands to additional San Francisco, East Bay, and San Jose schools (Sherman, Think College Now & Los Arboles).

Reading Partners is recognized for its distinguished contribution to education in the community with the Mountain View Mayor's Award for Reading Partners at Castro Mariano Elementary School.  Reading Partners also receives the "Excellence in Nonprofit Volunteer Management" award from The Volunteer Center of San Francisco and San Mateo counties.
2009-2010 After a successful initial expansion outside of the Bay Area, Reading Partners expands to five elementary schools Sacramento. Still committed to serving students in the Bay Area, Reading Partners also adds four new sites in the Bay Area, bringing the total number of partner schools to 24.

In February, Reading Partners passes a major benchmark by enrolling its 1,000th student for the year. Total enrollment reaches over 1,240 by the end of the year

Reading Partners also receives the "Volunteer Choice Award" from The Volunteer Center of San Francisco and San Mateo counties.
2010-2011 In addition to adding seven new school partners in California, Reading Partners adds its first sites outside of California. Thanks to a grant from New Schools Venture Fund, Reading Partners is able to serve four sites in Washington DC.

The program will serve 1,750 and 36 schools.

Reading Partners is recognized by the Volunteer Center of Sacramento as the Civic Organization of the Year.
2011-2012 After receiving a $3.5m Social Innovation Fund (SIF) investment from The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation (EMCF) in April 2011, Reading Partners adds 25 new school sites. Seven of these school sites are in New York City, where Reading Partners will serve 300 students across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens.