BookNook and MobileServe Announce Partnership to Provide Volunteer Reading Tutors for High Need Schools

OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BookNook, the nation's leading platform for online synchronous reading instruction, today announced a new partnership with MobileServe, one of the largest community of online volunteers in the United States. BookNook will now be able to provide trained and vetted volunteers to elementary schools in disenfranchised communities so that struggling students can receive additional live reading support during distance learning.

"Many students are only receiving two or three hours of live instruction per day, which is just not enough for those having a hard time with reading," said BookNook CEO Michael Lombardo. "This is a way for schools to expand learning time for the students who need it most without placing additional burdens on teachers."

According to a recent Education Week report, tutoring is widely acknowledged by experts as the best way to combat the sort of learning loss children have experienced due to Covid-19, but affordability presents a major barrier. Volunteer programs have shown to be an effective solution to this problem; data from summer pilot programs showed BookNook students working with remote volunteer tutors gained six months in reading skills during just six weeks of instruction.

The partnership also meets an important need for older students. Nearly a quarter of US high schools formally incorporate community service into instruction, many in the form of a graduation requirement. MobileServe is used by hundreds of these high schools to identify volunteer opportunities and track hours of service delivered.

"Our community has been begging for something like this," said MobileServe CEO Chris Head. "They believe in the power of service learning for young people and they know their communities are hurting right now. This gives them a way to be part of the solution."

While the partners expect to start small with 5,000-10,000 students receiving tutoring, the program has the potential for tremendous scale. MobileServe has several hundred thousand volunteers on its platform and BookNook has seen its partnerships with high need schools and nonprofits triple since March.

About BookNook

BookNook is a social enterprise on a mission to close the reading opportunity gap by using technology to provide every student access to world class teaching, whether at school or online. Founded in 2016, BookNook has quickly grown to partner with hundreds of schools, school districts, and nonprofits across 32 states. It has received national recognition for its impact on students' reading ability and its unique equity-based pricing model.

About MobileServe

MobileServe is on a mission to provide smart volunteer tracking and advanced social impact reporting, so that people and organizations can spend less time on administrative tasks, and more time doing good in the world. With its user-friendly mobile app, the laborious pen and paper verification system is replaced by a seamless process of streamlined tracking, peer to peer engagement, and visual reporting. Founded in 2015, MobileServe has partnered with hundreds of schools, universities, and corporations throughout the United States to serve tens of thousands of non-profit community partners.

Contact:         
Aaron Waters
[email protected]
352-537-0112

SOURCE BookNook Learning

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