Organizations Filed Purposes:
TO HELP CHILDREN IMPROVE LITERACY SKILLS AND BECOME BETTER LEARNERS.
READ BETTER BE BETTER (RBBB) WAS FOUNDED BY SOPHIE ETCHART IN 2014 IN PHOENIX AS A RESPONSE TO ARIZONA'S LITERACY CRISIS. ARIZONA IS RANKED 45TH IN THE NATION FOR CHILDHOOD LITERACY AND 48TH FOR PREK-12TH EDUCATION. CURRENTLY, 66% OF 3RD GRADERS FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES IN ARIZONA DO NOT READ AT GRADE LEVEL AND OFTEN ARE UNABLE TO MAKE THE NECESSARY TRANSITION FROM "LEARNING TO READ" TO "READING TO LEARN" BY 4TH GRADE. STUDENTS WHO DO NOT READ PROFICIENTLY BY THE END OF 3RD GRADE ARE FOUR TIMES LESS LIKELY TO GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL. BUT, WITH PROPER INTERVENTION, THERE IS AN 89% CHANCE THAT STUDENTS WHO CAN READ AT GRADE LEVEL BY THE END OF 3RD GRADE WILL GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL, IRRESPECTIVE OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS.(CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)CONTINUED FROM PART III: RBBB'S MISSION IS TO HELP CHILDREN IMPROVE LITERACY SKILLS AND BECOME BETTER LEARNERS. RBBB'S AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM SERVES 3RD GRADE READING LEARNERS (LITTLES) WHO HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED BY THEIR TEACHERS AS NEEDING TARGETED READING INTERVENTION. THE 3RD GRADERS ARE PAIRED FOR A SEMESTER WITH 6TH-8TH GRADE READING LEADERS (BIGS) WHO HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED TO THE PROGRAM BY SOCIAL WORKERS BECAUSE THEY HAVE, IN SOME WAY, BECOME DISENGAGED FROM SCHOOL. THE BIGS ARE PROVIDED WITH ONGOING TRAINING IN IMPLEMENTING READING STRATEGIES, LEADERSHIP, AND COACHING SKILLS BY RBBB SITE LEADERS. TOGETHER THE SITE LEADERS, BIGS, AND LITTLES WORK TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION, CONFIDENCE, AND THE ENJOYMENT OF READING. SINCE RBBB PILOTED ITS PROGRAM IN THE SPRING 2015 WITH TWO PARTNER SCHOOLS, IT HAS GROWN FROM SERVING 32 LEADERS AND 32 READERS TO 2045 LEADERS AND 2294 READERS ACROSS 48 PROGRAM SITES AS OF THE END OF THE FALL 2019 SEMESTER. PRIOR TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, RBBB HAD AN ADDITIONAL 604 LEADERS AND 683 READERS ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM. ACCORDING TO RBBB'S STRATEGIC PLAN AND ASSUMING THE TRADITIONAL PROGRAM WILL RESUME BY THE SPRING OF 2021, THE PROGRAM WILL EXPAND BY ONE SCHOOL DISTRICT EACH SEMESTER, WITH A GOAL OF REACHING 6,800 STUDENTS BY 2021. HIGHLIGHTS OF PROGRAM IMPACT FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2020 INCLUDE: STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED RBBB AND CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION ON AVERAGE OUTPERFORM NON-PARTICIPATING PEERS BY 19.9%, ACCORDING TO SCHOOL TESTING DATA. 86% OF 3RD GRADERS ON AVERAGE AGREE OR STRONGLY AGREE THAT THEY READ BETTER NOW THAN THEY COULD BEFORE PARTICIPATING IN RBBB, ACCORDING TO THE READING SELF-EFFICACY TEST. IN THE FALL OF 2019 TEACHERS REPORTED THAT STUDENTS MADE A 50% IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR COMPREHENSION SKILLS ON AVERAGE 87% OF LEADERS REPORTED THEY BELIEVE THEY HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A GOOD LEADER. IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, RBBB CREATED AN AT HOME CURRICULUM AND ASSEMBLED FAMILY LITERACY KITS THAT WERE DISTRIBUTED TO 4,212 FAMILIES IN THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Sophie Etchart | BOARD MEMBER AND CEO | 40 | $60,000 |
| Jenny Volpe | BOARD CHAIR | 1 | $0 |
| Patty Tate | SECRETARY | 1 | $0 |
| Dawn Wallace | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
| Gary Linhart | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
| Rachel Aja | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
| Carol Rhodes | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202013149349304361_public.xml