Secret Society of Readers: Inspiring Adolescent Readers Using a Near-Peer Approach

• In Event: Student Perspectives at the Middle Level

Abstract

Young adolescence is an exciting and tumultuous stage of a child’s educational experience, but particularly challenging for members of underserved communities (Stickl et al., 2019). The Secret Society of Readers is a donor-funded literacy and near-peer mentoring program at three Title I schools across 5th, 6th, and 7th grades. Using a formative design approach, we aim to understand both young adolescent mentee and university student mentor attitudes toward literacy and lifelong learning. Semi-structured interviews with mentees, mentors, parents, and administrators revealed that near-peer mentoring is essential for developing reader identity through strong relationships. Student choice shapes affective stances toward reading, and program structures are also important for effectiveness. Lastly, future iterations will gather more longitudinal quantitative data to support our findings.

Authors

• Lindsay E. Persohn, University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee

• Chelsea Rivera, University of South Florida

• Lucy Monette, University of South Florida

• Cheryl R. Ellerbrock, University of South Florida

• Dulcey Hunter, University of South Florida - Tampa