Aldine ISD Partners With Amazon to Develop District Reading Buddies Initiative

Disponible en:

During the February 2021 winter storm, many companies showed up to help the Aldine community. Among them, Amazon expressed their desire to expand the business relationship to become partners in education by being active volunteers in the instructional setting in Aldine. 

Linda Olson Flores, director of the Aldine Education Foundation, contacted the Amazon CARES team lead, Adebempie Adelaja, and Dr. Martha Escalante, executive director of the Family and Community Engagement (FACE) department, to brainstorm volunteer opportunities. Knowing that reading is one of the district’s priorities, Adebempie and Dr. Escalante designed the Amazon Reading Buddies Program which consists of having members of the Amazon CARES team as reading partners for primary school students. The goal of the weekly volunteer program is to get primary school students excited about reading.  

Amazon CARES volunteers hosted their first virtual reading at Garcia-Leza Primary School and the kids enjoyed it! The FACE department hopes to be able to expand the program to more schools soon.

“Participating in the Amazon Reading Buddies program has been a wonderful experience for our scholars at Garcia-Leza Primary,” Patricia Willis, principal of Garcia-Leza Primary School said. “The program is a fun way to introduce students to the pleasure of reading. Amazon employees have generously given their time to read to some of our students on a weekly basis. The students have thoroughly enjoyed having the amazing Amazon storytellers.”