Santa Clarita Valley residents remember March 2020 as the month that schools in all five districts of the SCV were closed due to COVID-19. Now, three years later, 19 volunteers with the Santa Clarita Valley Education Foundation have returned to the classrooms of seven elementary schools in the SCV with the Read With Me Program.

These dedicated, long term volunteers have anxiously awaited the e-mail, text or phone call announcing that they were once again needed in the classroom.

Here are a few comments from returning volunteers:

“Seeing bright, young children so eager to learn is so uplifting for me,” said Karen Doyle, a volunteer for Kindergarten/first grade at Mitchell Community School.

“As a returning Read With Me volunteer, I feel as if I get much more than I give. It is heartwarming for me to work with kids who so clearly embrace and enjoy the opportunity to share reading experiences with someone like me,” said Tom Hartmann, a volunteer for sixth grade students at Mitchell Community School.

“I am so glad to be back because I really enjoy being with the children,” said Pat Willett a volunteer at McGrath Elementary School. Willett resumed helping Mrs. Cardia in her first grade classroom. Cardia wrote: “I am very excited to have the opportunity to work with her again.” –

“As an eight year volunteer at Wiley Canyon, I found it so rewarding to help children learn and to see their bright smiles as their faces lit up with a sense of accomplishment,” said Kathy Buckley, a volunteer at Wiley Canyon Elementary School.

The Read With Me program is designed to help students improve reading, pronunciation and comprehension skills and to provide positive feedback, which results in building the students’ self-esteem.

Volunteers work one on one or in small groups and commit 1-2 hours one day a week for the school year.

Volunteers are usually retired so it makes for a wonderful multi-generational experience.

If you are a teacher interested in having a Read With Me volunteer in your classroom in the future or if you are interested in being a volunteer, please contact Kathy at RWMcoord@scveducationfoundation.org.