Dan Harrington, pastor at Northern Hills United Methodist Church and Reading Buddy at Northern Hills Elementary, is our January Reading Buddy of the Month!

This is Dan’s second year to volunteer as a Reading Buddy, but when you listen to him work with his students, you would think he has been doing this forever. Dan’s engaging personality and the warm, calm environment he creates in his sessions makes this a great place for his students to practice their reading. The conversation between Dan and his students flows easily and his encouragement is consistent and right on target to help his students become stronger readers. And there is no doubt that his students are enjoying themselves. If you were nearby, you would hear lots of laughing and commenting on elements of the story. At SAYL, we want to help create not only good readers but readers who enjoy reading. Dan is able to work on both of these aspects of reading while helping students build their reading confidence.

Dan says “As a pastor, it’s a dream to partner with the community and to encourage others to go into the schools and try to make a difference. It’s so rewarding, getting to experience someone learning and growing.” Thanks Dan, for making such a difference in the lives of your students!