Congratulations Kyle!

Congratulations to Kyle Clark, the 2008 Navajo Mentoring Program Student of the Year, and now a graduate of La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, NM. Kyle spent the summer of 2009 in Reader to Reader’s Summer Enrichment Program and is heading to New Mexico State in the fall. He is back in Amherst this summer to prepare for college life. We are so proud of him and wish him all the best as he starts his new journey.

Reader to Reader Announces the Athena Interactive Literacy Program

We are pleased to announce the Athena Interactive Literacy Program, a new program to be held August 23-27 at Amherst College. This special program works with pregnant and parenting teens in order to build their reading and writing skills, and to explore healthy eating and cooking.

The young mothers in the program currently attend The Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where they are working on getting their G.E.D.s so they can attend college.

Athena Interactive Literacy Program supplements their studies, giving them a dynamic week of exploration that moves beyond test taking to help them discover the joy of being a student.


The program's theme is "Fiction, Food & Fun" and couples reading and creative writing with an exploration of food that will help them cook and eat healthier.

The program brings together an exciting team of educators, writers, and artists, including noted writing teacher Peter Elbow, and Chef Bill Collins, a graduate of the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts with over 15 years professional experience, including the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston.

The students will spend their mornings exploring reading and writing in a variety of interesting settings, including recording poetry at a professional recording studio. They will spend their afternoons with Chef Collins learning to cook healthy food for themselves and their children.

The Athena Interactive Literacy Program is sponsored in part by Peoples Bank.

A special thank you to Chef Bill Collins (www.chefbill.com) for the generous donation of his services.

For more information contact info@readertoreader.org

Reader To Reader Mourns Passing of Frank McCourt

It is with deep sadness that we mark the passing of author Frank McCourt. Our Summer Enrichment Program had a special link to McCourt as the participants read Angela’s Ashes and travelled to New Haven to hear McCourt speak just weeks before he died.

Reading mentor Kathryn Libby notes:

“I was so shocked to hear of Mr. McCourt's death: we had seen him speak at Yale just a month ago and he was so engaging and energized! I was honored to be in the presence of so great a writer, and someone who spoke so eloquently and humorously of an impoverished Irish Catholic past. His words touched each and every one of the audience that afternoon. He was such a graceful and dedicated man. I highly recommend his memoir Angela's Ashes for anyone looking for a book that is poignant and entertaining throughout.”

Reader To Reader has also used Frank McCourt’s books as part of the online Navajo Mentoring Program and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Angela’s Ashes never fails to stir the heart and mind with its touching mix of sorrow and the resiliency of the human spirit.

He will be missed.

Reader To Reader Launches Summer Enrichment Program

This summer marks the debut of Reader To Reader's new Summer Enrichment Program. The program brings students from low-income communities who are entering their senior year in high school to Reader To Reader’s home on the campus of Amherst College for three weeks of academic enrichment.

The program focuses on enhancing academic skills through one-on-on work with college student reading mentors and specialized workshops with guest instructors. In addition to academic enrichment, the program also focuses on the college selection and application process, and strategies for a successful college experience.

“We are very excited to launch this new program which is an offshoot of our Navajo Mentoring Program,” says David Mazor, executive director of Reader To Reader. “We believe it will have a direct impact on students’ ability to get into and most importantly succeed in college.”