Every child deserves to read with confidence.
Read With Me Nashville is a newly formed Tennessee nonprofit providing free, one-to-one and small-group structured literacy tutoring to students who face barriers to reading at grade level — beginning at Jones Paideia Magnet Elementary School.
Structured, research-based literacy instruction — for the students who need it most.
Read With Me Nashville is organized exclusively for educational and charitable purposes. Our primary activity is structured literacy tutoring for students facing barriers to achieving grade-level reading proficiency, delivered through direct partnerships with public schools in the Nashville area.
Every student we serve is identified and referred by a partner school, and every child is welcomed without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. We don't provide homework help or childcare — our tutors do one thing, and they do it well: teach children to read.
“Growing readers. Strengthening communities.”
One student, one plan, one path to grade-level reading.
Instruction is individualized from day one and adjusted continuously as students grow — the same way a tree branches in response to the light it finds.
Assess
Each student receives a research-based literacy assessment before instruction begins, establishing a clear starting point for individualized instruction.
Teach
Trained, paid literacy tutors deliver explicit, systematic structured literacy instruction one-to-one or in small groups, multiple times per week.
Monitor
Progress is monitored regularly throughout the year, and instruction is adjusted on an ongoing basis based on what the data shows.
Grow
Families receive periodic progress reports, home reading strategies, and opportunities to build home libraries — reinforcing growth beyond the tutoring session.
Real instruction, backed by data — not guesswork.
All student assessment data is handled in accordance with federal and school-district data-sharing expectations, protecting student privacy and confidentiality at every step. We collect and analyze outcomes to improve instruction, demonstrate accountability to our Board and funders, and make sure the program is doing what it exists to do: move children toward grade-level reading.
Every tutor is recruited, trained, supervised, and evaluated
- Our structured lesson model and explicit, systematic instructional methods
- Research-based literacy instruction grounded in the science of reading
- Child protection policies and best practices for working with young students
- Ongoing coaching and evaluation throughout the school year
Starting in one school. Built to grow.
Beginning with the 2026–2027 school year, tutoring will be offered at our first partner school, with expansion to additional Nashville-area schools as opportunities and resources permit.
Jones Paideia Magnet Elementary School
Our founding partner school for the 2026–2027 school year — the first site where Read With Me Nashville tutors will work directly with referred students.
Referral-based
Students are identified and referred to the program by their partner school, not by application.
Open to all eligible students
Services are provided without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Free, with a waiver built in
Services are provided at no cost. If a nominal fee is ever introduced to support sustainability, it will always be waived for any family unable to pay.
Guided by a committed founding board.
Read With Me Nashville is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, to whom the Executive Director reports directly during this initial phase of the organization.
Karen Woolridge
David Trainer
Dr. Paulette Coleman
Karen Conrad
Sarah Drury
Cheryl Thomas
Where the money goes.
We're committed to putting resources where they belong: in front of students. At least 85% of annual expenditures go directly to program services, with combined administrative and fundraising costs capped at no more than 15%.
Funded By
- Foundation grants
- Corporate grants & sponsorships
- Individual charitable contributions
- Other philanthropic support
Help a Nashville student become a confident reader.
Read With Me Nashville is a startup nonprofit — every early gift, referral, and volunteer hour has an outsized impact on getting our first classroom of readers off the ground.
Donate
Fund tutor training, assessment materials, and home libraries for students at Jones Paideia and future partner schools.
Give via ZeffyBecome a Tutor
We recruit, train, and pay literacy tutors to deliver structured, one-to-one and small-group instruction each week.
Ask About TutoringPartner Your School
We're building relationships with Nashville-area public schools as we grow beyond our founding site.
Start a ConversationGive through Zeffy — 100% of your donation goes to the mission.
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