This month we would like to highlight Reading Buddy extraordinaire, Laura Labatt. Laura has been a Reading Buddy with SAYL for three years, and this past school year she logged 30 sessions with one of her students! She first learned about San Antonio Youth Literacy through her friendship with SAYL
All Posts by Mary Flannigan
Executive Director Note – September 2019
Executive Director Note – September 2019 “To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” – Victor Hugo Fall is, gratefully, around the corner and by now all the school districts in San Antonio and Bexar County are back in session.
Executive Director Note – August 2019
“Promise me you’ll always remember: You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”~ A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh Well the data is in on our 2018 – 2019 school year and we are excited for the results. 94% of our students improved 1 reading level or
A New Chapter for the Book Buddies Team
Over five years ago, SAYL volunteer Jane Welch came to us with a vision to expand our end-of-year book giveaway program. As a Reading Buddy herself, Jane was aware that we gave books to our students at the end of the year to promote summer reading and to help start
Reading Buddy Tip – New Updates for Fall 2019
Each summer, as we gear up for the new school year, we review our training materials for new Reading Buddies and make updates and adjustments when necessary. This year we added guidelines for how to respond in the case of a fire or lockdown drill, as well as suggestions for
Donor Spotlight – August 2019
A special thanks to the Valero Energy Foundation for their support of our SAYL Reading Buddy Program through their gift of $10,000. Valero Energy Foundation’s ongoing support to the communities in which they live, work and serve through causes that aid, empower, enrich and educate allows San Antonio Youth Literacy the
Book Buddy News – July 2019
When last month’s Book Buddies News went online, our annual Book Celebrations in the schools had concluded. But we didn’t yet have photos of the events. Here’s a taste of the proceedings. The Spurs Sports & Entertainment generously gave us 400 backpack bags so the kids could more easily carry
Donor Spotlight – July 2019
As SAYL reaches the end of its fiscal year, we want to take the opportunity to once again thank those who have been so supportive of our organization. For all our individual Friends of SAYL who made donations this year; for those who participated in the Big Give campaign; for the
Executive Director Note – July 2019
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, by A.A. Milne It is hard to believe that it has been a month already since we said goodbye to our Reading Buddies and wished them all that is good for their
Book Buddies Update – June 2019
Book Celebtrations: All the hard work that Book Buddies volunteers put in this year came to fruition the last week of May at our end-of-year Book Celebrations. This year we were able to provide 60,000 books to 10,000 children in 20 Title I schools in the San Antonio Independent School