Sit Stay Read Inc

Almost everyone likes dogs—the cuddling, the love. SitStayRead is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the love of learning and improving literacy proficiency for at-risk kids, and we capitalize on this idea.

When children read and explore the world of books, they feel proud of themselves; doors open to reveal possibilities they never imagined.  You make this possible.

Dogs allow us to tackle the sobering issue of childhood literacy with a positive spin: they address reading fluency in a fun way by incorporating reading assistance dogs into the program.

Our innovative approach to reading fluency has shown remarkable results. Classrooms enhanced by SitStayRead’s volunteers—canine as well as human—have shown significant improvement on assessment tests.

Children in the program are making 47.8 percent greater fluency gains than peers who aren’t participating, a very impressive statistic. Services are provided gratis to public schools and community centers that focus on the needs of low-income Chicago families.

Kids love interacting with the dogs: reading to (and about) them, petting them, loving them. All assignments are dog-themed, so this unique experience leads to lasting learning for the kids. The 192 human volunteers are special, too, and served over 2000 students in 76 classrooms in 2014.