Community Recruiting Guide Ready-to-go templates for personalized recruiting and communication with mentors
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Begin by reading the Implementation Guide. You’ll nd an overview of the program and a recruitment plan, as well as basic templates for communicating about REAL. This Community Recruitment Guide dives deeper, with templates for recruiting and engaging with mentors through the life cycle of the program, developing relationships that can continue into a new school year and beyond. Visit real.scholastic.com to download editable digital versions of these letters. From there, you can: • Keep It Simple! Simply ll in your personalized details/contact information, paste them into an email, and you’re done! —or— • Go Deep. Customize for your community or show off what makes your school unique.
Letter Templates
Mentor Outreach Emails • Nonpro t/Corporate.............................. 3 • Sports Team............................................... 4 • Civil Service Professionals.................... 5
Mid-year Check-in Email • Encouragement....................................... 6 End-of-Year Email • Thank You / See You Next Year............ 7
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Nonpro t/Corporate Outreach (Can be customized to corporate engagement programs, civic organizations, faith-based organizations, etc.)
Subject Line Ideas: • [School/district/organization name] Seeking Volunteers • Volunteer Opportunity: Read Aloud in Schools • [School name] Needs Your Help • Opportunity to Connect With Your Community
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Dear ______________, I’m reaching out to you from [school/district/organization] with a simple yet impactful opportunity for your [employees/members]. Our [school/school district] is seeking community members to spend one hour [each month/ every other month] reading aloud to children [in classrooms], discussing books and the real-life issues within. Mentorship of this nature has far-reaching e ects, not only on children’s literacy skills, but also on their social-emotional development and their investment in school. Research shows that reading out loud to a child is the single most important thing a caring adult can do to nurture a child’s reading and learning skills. We also know that mentoring within a literacy-rich program can instill a love of books in children, motivating them to read, and help close the opportunity gap. We have adopted an exciting program called Scholastic R.E.A.L.—Read. Excel. Achieve. Lead. This proven, successful program includes high-quality books as well as easy-to-use book guides for mentors, complete with built-in conversation starters individualized for each book. The only missing part is YOU! Engagement in mentoring is an investment that not only serves one individual, but also the community as a whole. Through R.E.A.L. mentorship, your participation will have a genuine and positive e ect on children’s lives, while connecting your [company/organization] to the community and enhancing your [employees’/members’] “soft skills,” like communication, team building, and collaboration. I would like to talk with you more about how we can build powerful, e ective partnerships to facilitate a meaningful and rewarding endeavor for both your [company/organization] and our community’s youth. I will follow up soon with a call to your o ce. Sincerely, Name Title School/district/organization Email address and phone number
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Sports Team Outreach (Can be customized to local college teams, professional teams, and development teams, such as those in minor league baseball or the NBA Development League.)
Subject Line Ideas: • [School/district/organization name] Seeking Volunteers • Volunteer Opportunity: Read Aloud in Schools • Opportunity to Connect Schools + [organization you’re reaching out to] • Opportunity to Inspire Your Community
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Dear ______________, Hello from [school/district/organization]!
Think back to your youth. Imagine growing up without the guidance of a teacher, coach, or team captain helping you achieve your most desired goals. How might your life have turned out di erently? The positive influences you encountered while growing up provided you with the insight, skills, and discipline you needed to succeed. We would like to invite you to participate in a new and exciting program that will o er kids in your community the same opportunities that the caring adults and peers gave you as a youth. Our district has adopted Scholastic R.E.A.L.—Read. Excel. Achieve. Lead.—a proven, successful program devoted to inspiring and building the literacy skills of our children while pairing them with mentors who are willing to share their love for reading for an hour [each month/every other month]. Research shows that reading out loud to a child is the single most important thing a caring adult can do to nurture a child’s reading and learning skills. Scholastic R.E.A.L. includes top-quality books for read-alouds as well as easy-to-use book guides for mentors, complete with built-in conversation starters individualized for each book. As a R.E.A.L. mentor, your participation will have a genuine and positive e ect on children’s lives. Your can help reduce the number of kids who are disconnected from school while improving their social and economic outcomes by contributing to our school community. I would like to talk with you more about how we can build powerful, e ective partnerships and facilitate a meaningful and rewarding endeavor for your [company/organization] and our community’s youth. I will follow up soon with a call to your o ce. Sincerely, Name Title School/district/organization Email address and phone number
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Scholastic REAL 4
Civil Service Professionals Outreach (Can be customized to veterans’ groups, re ghters, and police o cers)
Subject Line Ideas: • [School/district/organization name] Seeking Volunteers • Volunteer Opportunity: Read Aloud in Schools • [School name] Needs Your Help • Opportunity to Connect With Your Community
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Dear ______________, I’m reaching out to you from [school/district/organization] with a simple yet impactful opportunity for your [employees/members]. Our [school/school district] is seeking community members to spend one hour [each month/every other month] reading aloud to children [in classrooms], discussing books and the real-life issues within. Mentorship of this nature has far-reaching e ects on children’s literacy skills—and beyond. Mentoring o ers solutions that address community challenges, such as graduation rates, juvenile crime, higher-education enrollment, and workforce development. Your participation can have a broad impact on the community. Our district has adopted an exciting program called Scholastic R.E.A.L.—Read. Excel. Achieve. Lead. This proven, successful program includes high-quality books as well as easy-to use book guides for mentors, complete with built-in conversation starters individualized for each book. The only missing part is YOU! Research shows that reading out loud to a child is the single most important thing a caring adult can do to nurture a child’s reading and learning skills. Through R.E.A.L. mentorship, your participation will have a genuine and positive e ect on children’s lives, while connecting your [organization/institution] to the community. I would like to talk with you more about how we can build powerful, e ective partnerships and facilitate a meaningful and rewarding endeavor for your [company/organization] and our community’s youth. I will follow up soon with a call to your o ce. Sincerely, Name Title School/district/organization Email address and phone number
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Mentor Encouragement (Can be customized to celebrate speci c program milestones and/or successes)
Subject Line Ideas: • Celebrating YOU: Thank you from [school/district/organization name] • Update: Your reading is working [or accomplishing great things]! • Thank you for making an impact!
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Dear [mentor name], We at [school/district/organization] can’t thank you enough for volunteering to read to our community’s children through the Scholastic R.E.A.L. program! The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive. Here’s a sampling of what we’ve heard so far: • A child told us, “[Insert quote].” • A [teacher/facilitator] let us know, “[Insert quote].” [Insert anecdote: “You might also be interested to know…” or “I’m also delighted to share that…”] I’m seeing students’ perception of reading shift from reluctance to excitement as they receive their book each month and look forward to seeing YOU! They nd it easier to dive into a new book at home when they’ve already begun the process of reading and chatting about the book, joyfully, with you. [Alternately, if needed: I know it can take a few months for a mentor and students to get to know each other. We’re so grateful you’re keeping at it, building trust with students. I’m so appreciative that you’re investing in our children. You will make a R.E.A.L. impact on them.] If you have any questions or feedback at any point in the year, please feel free to reach out to me. Strong relationships between schools and community members have a deep impact on children, and we’re already seeing the results. We’re so glad to have you with us! [Warmly, / With gratitude, / Thank you,] Name Title School/district/organization Email address and phone number
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Scholastic REAL 6
Thank You / See You Next Year
Subject Line Ideas: • YOU DID IT! Thank you for a successful year • Wow! You made a R.E.A.L. impact! • Celebrating YOU: Thank you from [school/district/organization name]
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Dear [mentor name], We at [school/district/organization] are blown away by the impact you had on our community’s children through the Scholastic R.E.A.L. program this year! I’m inspired by the feedback I’m hearing: • A child told us, “[Insert quote].” • A [teacher/facilitator] let us know, “[Insert quote].” [Insert anecdote about reading achievement: “I’m thrilled to share that…”] Over the course of this year, there has been a signi cant shift in how our students respond to books, comprehend and analyze stories, and discuss how they connect to books—and YOU were a crucial piece of the puzzle! We would be honored to have you join us again next year. Please let me know by [August xx] if you are on board. If you have any preferences regarding the same or a new class, or the same or a di erent grade, please share that as well. If you have any feedback about your experience or ideas for how we can improve it next year, please get in touch [or: you can email me or share it in this anonymous form, if your school/ district/organization would like to set one up]. With deep gratitude, Name Title School/district/organization Email address and phone number
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The outcomes of this program are signi cant .
Reading practice, motivation, and improvement
Improved self-esteem Ongoing and consistent community engagement Relevant connections to the REAL world
The mentor reading program has been one of the most impactful programs we’ve brought to the campus. It has exceeded our expectations, and I only wish we had arranged to have the program sooner. —JJ Perez, Elementary School Principal “
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