History
Started in 2004 at the request of the Coachella Valley Unified School District Superintendent of Schools, Roberta and Clay Klein started a fund at the Desert Community Foundation and asked the pastor of their church for his assistance in recruiting volunteers. Father Howard Lincoln of Sacred Heart Church readily agreed. The District had been using English speaking volunteers to the extent, they could get them to go into the schools in the district that had no English speaking people in the community. Roberta asked the Superintendent if he would provide buses if they could recruit volunteers who were fluent in English through churches and other organizations.
Read With Me was born and now brings volunteers from seven churches to five different schools. The schools are all in areas of high poverty with a majority of the parents untrained in academic English. They love their children but cannot help them with English.
In 2013, Read With Me received a Golden Bell Award for English Acquisition from the California School Board Association. We believe the program is totally replicable in other areas that face similar challenges in providing tutoring and mentoring for disadvantaged children in a classroom setting.
What we do
In the classroom, the teacher assigns individual volunteers to selected students to listen to them read, assisting them with pronunciation and comprehension. The mentor/tutors are typically retired part-time Coachella Valley residents, some with special skills who help specific students go beyond the basic.
Read With Me
Honored with the Golden Bell award for English Acquisition by the California School Board Association and the 2022 GuideStar Silver Seal of Transparency
Volunteer Programs
Title IX: Prohibiting Sex-Based Discrimination
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in all educational programs and activities, including athletic programs. No person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity operated by Read With Me Volunteer Programs. Title IX protects all participants in Read With Me Volunteers's educational programs and activities, including students, parents, employees, and job applicants. Read With Me Volunteer Programs does not discriminate on the basis of sex, including discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Discrimination on the basis of sex can include sexual harassment and sexual violence.
Our Director and the Title IX Coordinator are aware of and acknowledge the new Title IX regulations released on April 19, 2024 and effective as of August 1, 2024. Our Title IX team received new training materials. These new Title IX training materials are available online for review. You may also review our Title IX training materials that our executive director participated in in August 2024.
As always, if you want to report a sexual harassment incident, please reach out to our Title IX Coordinator:
Sean Webb
(760) 567-1830
42600 Cook St, Palm Desert, CA 92211 - Suite 125
​
In addition to Title IX, the California Education Code prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in schools. (California Education Code §§ 220-221.1.) Other state and federal laws also prohibit discrimination and ensure equality in education.
Please refer to an overview of all Read With Me Volunteer Programs's nondiscrimination policies and the following specific policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment:
-
Title IX Sexual Harassment Complaint Procedures & Open Door Policy
-
Sexual Harassment – Administrative Regulation Uniform Complaint Procedures
​
​
Learn More
For more information regarding Title IX and sex equity in education or in RWM employment, please contact RWM’s Title IX coordinator.