It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader

Two major questions guided the entire project:

What literacy and social benefits do Project L.O.V.E. volunteers contribute to the development of elementary students?
What aspects of Project L.O.V.E. could be changed to make the contributions volunteers make to student’s literacy and social well-being more extensive and more generally applicable?

Students:

What literacy benefits do students say they receive from Project L.O.V.E. volunteers?
How do students portray their experiences working with Project L.O.V.E. volunteers?
How do students portray the lives of volunteers outside their work in Project L.O.V.E?

Classroom Teachers:

Why do classroom teachers send elementary children to Project L.O.V.E.? To what extent do they see social benefits? To what extent do they see literacy benefits?
How do teachers draw on or use the background experience and knowledge of Project L.O.V.E. volunteers for the work volunteers do with the students?
What are the barriers to teachers’ involvement in Project L.O.V.E.?
What advantages/disadvantages do teachers see in using older volunteers?

Principals:

Why do principals involve teachers and students in Project L.O.V.E.?
What are the barriers to principals’ Involvement in Project L.O.V.E.?
What advantages/disadvantages do principals see in the use of volunteers who are older?

Volunteers:

What do Project L.O.V.E. volunteers feel they contribute to the literacy development of elementary children?
What do Project L.O.V.E. volunteers feel they contribute to the social wellbeing of elementary children?
What do Project L.O.V.E. volunteers feel their work as a volunteer contributes to their own personal literacy development?
What do Project L.O.V.E. volunteers feel their work as a volunteer contributes to their own social and personal well-being?
What encourages/inhibits participation by older volunteers in Project L.O.V.E.?
What background and experiences do volunteers bring to Project L.O.V.E.?