Consider how hundreds of business women and men across the Denver Metro area spent their lunch break: reading to DPS students and helping them gain the skills, tools and confidence to become better readers.
This week, like every week for the rest of the school year, hundreds of corporate volunteers from across the Denver Metro boarded yellow school buses and filed out into the narrow hallways of elementary schools. Each person is pursing the same goal: to help Every Child Succeed.
The program we’re describing – Power Lunch – is a collaboration between DPS, the DPS Foundation and Mile High United Way; and it’s one of the many offerings of the DPS Foundation’s School Partners Program. Thanks to the infrastructure built through this initiative, local businesses and organizations have the opportunity to directly contribute to the success of our students and schools.
Power Lunch is a specific opportunity for corporate employees to step out of their daily routine and take a few hours each month to change the life of a DPS student. “I love that we were able to inject energy into the classroom and rally around reading”, says Jacob Welp, PwC US employee. Each week of the school year, the volunteer and student pair meets for 45 minutes to read aloud and work on vocabulary and comprehension skills.
PwC is one of DPS Foundation’s closest partners. In addition to Power Lunch, PwC participated in a volunteer day of service at Columbian Elementary over the summer to help welcome students back to school – projects included painting, landscaping and coding books in the library. PwC has also provided a grant to the DPS Foundation for Each One Teach One to support literacy in DPS.
“At PwC, we have a desire, as well as a responsibility as business leaders, to take actions that have a lasting, positive impact on the communities in which we work. As a result, PwC is committed to providing opportunities for its people to participate both in firm sponsored community events and activities as well as giving employees the time they need to lend a hand to organizations and causes to which they feel a personal connection. The Power Lunch program allows PwC partners and staff the opportunity to give back in a meaningful way, on a regular basis to an important cause – youth education. The strength of our community as a whole is tied to the strength of each of its individuals and joining Denver Public Schools, Mile High United Way, and the Denver Public Schools Foundation in the Power Lunch program is a powerful way to commit to our schools and students.”
We were there for the very first day of the PwC Power Lunch partnership, and had the honor of watching the volunteers meet their student “reading buddies” for the first time. More than 40 PwC employees signed up for the program so that each student has their own buddy.
As the PwC volunteers entered the room there was a sense of excitement, nervousness and lots of smiling faces as the employees circled around the student’s desk. After a brief introduction from Principal Deborah Tu-Tygrs and a short count down, each PwC volunteer was matched with their student buddy. The students jumped from their desk to quickly find their mentor and reading partner for the year.
Power Lunch has a multitude of benefits and outcomes. Along with helping support literacy, the program also provides a space for mentoring between the student and their reader. The goal of Power Lunch is to strengthen each student’s reading skills to be at grade level or beyond by the end of third grade.
At the end of their Power Lunch, the PwC employees stepped back onto the yellow school bus to return to the office. The aisles of the bus were filled with chatter about the best buddy stories and hilarious quotes from students throughout the hour. “I love science because I want to invent the world’s longest car,” said one student.
Now that’s a good way to spend your lunch hour!
What did YOU do on your lunch break? Please consider joining the Power Lunch program – and getting to board a school bus with your colleagues and make a difference in the lives of students – instead of working straight through lunch.
“In 2011, sociologist Donald Hernandez reported that children who do not read proficiently by the end of third grade are four times more likely to leave school without a diploma than proficient readers.”
– Annie E. Casey Foundation: The Early Warning Confirmed