When Chris, one of our bilingual professional mentors, first met Mateo*, understanding speaking English presented a challenge for the young boy's learning. Chris often provided crucial bilingual support in the classroom, ensuring that Mateo could fully participate. As Chris describes it, Mateo "knew very basic words, like, "soccer" and "video games," just little words like that. So it really helped us build our relationship that I was able to talk to him in Spanish. He didn't have the pressure of needing to know English to talk to me."

Just 2.5 years later, Mateo is not only fluent in English, he is also a reader. A passionate one.

After Chris gave him a copy of Dog Man, Mateo couldn't stop talking about it every time they were together. "I've read it three times, and I'm going to read it again!" he would tell Chris. His love of books isn't an accident. Mateo's mom reads with him often. Chris collaborates closely with Mateo's teachers and caregivers to help him improve his skills. And he is always on the lookout for the next book he thinks Mateo might love.

We know that literacy opens meaningful doors for young people. Nearly 70% of fourth graders in the United States read below proficiency. And 82% of those come from low-income families like Mateo's. But we know from Friends of the Children's more than 30 years of experience that with the right resources and support from Friends like Chris, these students can thrive.

Chris shares, "Step by step, outing by outing we would learn more and more English. Now, Mateo prefers to speak in English because he's learned so much. Every now and then he will forget how to say something and he'll ask, 'Chris, how do I say....?' It's been a really awesome thing to experience with Mateo."