Beyond the Page

One nonprofit organization is empowering Charleston’s children to embrace the world of opportunities that await them through the value of mentoring and literacy.

Dyrell Clark, executive director of Reading Partners South Carolina, oversees the delivery of one-on-one literacy interventions in Title 1 elementary schools in Charleston and Berkeley County School Districts, working closely with district leaders, philanthropists and families. “I am driven by the mission of ensuring that South Carolinians can look forward to a bright future,” he shared.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, the heart of Reading Partners’ mission hits home for Clark. “I started out as a kid in a single-parent household,” he reflected. “In third grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia, and I could not read on grade level from third to sixth grade. My aunt took me in and mentored me and made sure I had all the resources to be successful, because my mom could not provide those things for me. Knowing how I grew up, I always wanted to help children that came from backgrounds similar to mine.”

After graduating from Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, and going on to earn master’s degrees in both business and mental health counseling, Clark dedicated his career to serving the community through leadership roles at organizations including City Year and Boys and Girls Club before stepping into his current role with Reading Partners South Carolina.

Today, Clark is committed to connecting with the students in the schools he serves. “Going into the classroom and seeing students struggling, I understand the psychological piece of it, how they have low self-esteem and feel not seen at times,” he said. “I have two students that I tutor, and the relationship I have with them is beneficial. One of the students in the third grade told me that he wanted to be me. That was the first time I ever heard that.”

Shelbey Roberts, news anchor and reporter for Live5 WCSC  participated in the Reading Partners program during the 2023-2024 school year at Green Charter School Lowcountry in North Charleston. “Once a week, for about an hour, I got to work alongside a first grader named Zoe,” Roberts reflected. “When we first met, she was more reserved and soft-spoken. But Zoe was always very polite, excited to share what was happening in her world and eager to learn new words. The more we read together, the more confident she became in her reading skills and comprehension. She'd even give this signature grin when she'd finish a book or answer a follow-up question correctly. It was unbelievably rewarding to see how consistency, patience and encouragement over the course of a school year could yield quality results in a student's academic experience.”

Committed Reading Partners volunteers go into local schools and tutor students using the program’s evidence-based curriculum that boasts a 92% success rate for local students. From business professionals to retirees, work-study students to fraternity and sorority members, Reading Partners’ volunteers come from all walks of life to invest in the next generation. “What I love most is the smile you see once the student catches on,” Clark shared. “When you first meet them, they might not want to read to you because they’re embarrassed. You build a bond, and you see them take off. It’s a slow process, but I watch our volunteers that come in the door, sign-in and show up, because it's not about the metrics or the numbers. It's about making sure that a student feels safe and seen in the classroom.”

This year, Reading Partners South Carolina served 562 students, completing over 15,139 tutoring sessions. More than 530 community tutors served children at 11 reading centers, offering children the resources and support they need to fully embody their potential. “Literacy levels the playing field in an unfair world,” shared Roberts. “Research shows it's a key factor in predicting long-term success inside and outside of the classroom.”

In addition to providing one-on-one tutoring to children, Reading Partners also gives away books every Friday — more than 14,000 books this year, and counting. “95% of students develop mastery of fundamental reading skills from our program,” reported Clark. “100% of teachers reported the value of Reading Partners was needed in the school, and 100% principals felt we improved the schoolwide reading process.”

Beyond the data, the stories of how individual children’s lives have been touched by Reading Partners volunteers best capture the mission of this program. When one child at a local elementary school refused to work with Reading Partners volunteers, Clark stepped in and started with connection. “It was only the assessment, so I walked over and asked him what was wrong. He said he didn’t like the book, so I asked him what books he does like,” he recalled. After discovering the child’s love for basketball, especially NBA player Steph Curry, Clark knew what to do. “I told him, ‘You’re so special, you won’t do the assessment today, you’ll work with me,’ and we drew a few things, and I told him I would buy him a book about Steph Curry and give it to him on Friday — but when I was not in the room he needed to work and strive for greatness, and he said he would do that for me.”

Finding a book that the student can relate to, that they are motivated to read, is an important first step in growing a love for reading. “When I showed up on Friday, he was in the reading center waiting for me, and the first thing he said was, ‘I didn’t think that you would show up,’” Clark shared. “It told me I needed to be a consistent piece in this young man’s life, because he didn’t have that. So, throughout the year I would show up and check on him, not just in the reading center but in the classroom as well. I would get good reports, and bad reports, but I would bring him out of the room and talk to him and mentor him. By the end of the year, he passed every assessment, and he was at grade-level.”

As a news journalist, stories are a part of Roberts’ everyday life, and she is passionate about the way reading can open a world of opportunities and equalize otherwise unbalanced life situations. “Volunteering with Reading Partners was a phenomenal way to pair the importance of reading with my passion for helping students from marginalized backgrounds academically advance,” she said. “Being in the news industry, we report on a lot of the world's challenges, including how the lack of education negatively impacts communities. I wanted to be one of the people working to offer solutions.”

Supporting the mission of Reading Partners in Charleston requires one special gift – time. “If you're patient, encouraging and have an hour to spare once a week consistently, I'd encourage you to volunteer with Reading Partners,” urged Roberts. “The training is simple, and there are a host of schools for you to make a difference in.” ϒ

Learn more about opportunities to volunteer with Reading Partners South Carolina by visiting readingpartners.org.