Hennepin County Library Let’s Read! – Building Strong Readers

Reading is a foundational skill for lifelong success. Let’s Read! volunteers help students in Kindergarten–5th grades develop the skills needed to become confident, proficient readers. Using the evidence-based Reading Partners curriculum, volunteers deliver structured lessons tailored to each student’s growth level. 

The program focuses on improving letter recognition, reading fluency, and comprehension while boosting confidence and academic achievement. 82% of participating students are youth of color, and on average, students show measurable improvement after just 20 tutoring sessions. 

In 2025, 177 community volunteers provided more than 4,170 tutoring sessions, inspiring hundreds of students to become lifelong readers and helping reduce educational disparities. As one volunteer shared, “The students were thrilled to come to the library for their tutoring session. One student told her tutor that she kept asking her mom, ‘Is it Wednesday yet?’ because she knew she had tutoring on Wednesday.”