Arlington Public Schools is searching for volunteers to read to elementary-aged kids for an hour each week, as part of a push to improve literacy skills and get kids excited about reading.

The pilot program, called “Readers Rise: Empowering Young Minds Through Reading,” is scheduled to start in mid-October. Volunteers will get trained and then read to K-2 students at Barrett, Hoffman-Boston or Long Branch elementary schools. The district said those schools were picked based on a “diversity of needs.”

“We’re seeing positive trends in our K-2 data,” APS Chief Academic Officer Gerald Mann said. “But we also know, until every student is reading on grade level, we want to provide them the opportunity to continue to practice their reading and also gain a mentor.”

The pilot schools are in the

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