Happy New Year SAYL Friends!

We can't believe it's already 2014.  This year SAYL will celebrate its 30-year anniversary.   We have come along way since 1984, but have never strayed from our mission of providing programming and volunteers to help San Antonio's at-risk youth.

We hope you will join us on April 9 as we honor and "roast" our founder Harriet Marmon Helmle.  Harriet's passion for the youth of San Antonio is unwavering and SAYL is one of the many non-profits that has benefitted from her support.  Stay tuned for more details or check out the event page on our website.   We will also have our special Reading Buddy ticket price for all active Reading Buddies.

This time of year gets busy once again for us as we work to complete a mid-year assessment on every student that has been matched with a Reading Buddy.  By the first week in February we should know how much progress your students have made.  Your individual student folder will have a note indicating the results.   The typical rate of improvement that we are aiming for is 0.6, that is about 6 months of improvement.  We know that not every student has made this kind of progress yet.  We also know that if you are working with below target students (lower than a K.8), then the rate of progress may be much slower.  Do not be discouraged if you feel your student is not where you want them to be!  The main purpose for the mid-year assessment is to ensure that students are making progress.  For those who are not on target we will work to tailor the program to the students' unique needs.  If you have any questions about your students' progress please reach out to us. 

Also, if you have any success stories please let us know about those, too! We have already heard our first one for the year: Check out our latest blog from Reading Buddy Dave Force.

Thank you again for all you do!

Sincerely, 

Christina M. Martinez-Rodriguez

Executive Director

On December 10th, San Antonio Youth Literacy became one of five recipients to receive a check in the amount of $5,000 from the San Antonio Hotel & Lodging Association, through the proceeds of their Angel Buys program.  

The Association and its individual members are proud of their commitment and involvement in the community by providing volunteer hours and funding to many charities and groups across the city.  The guiding principle of this organization is to promote projects and programs that will improve the quality of life for our citizens, while preserving and protecting that which makes San Antonio so unique.