Enriching Learners
Through our investments in interventions and out-of-school literacy programs, striving readers receive the extra support and tools they need to become proficient readers by the end of the third grade.
My Home Library
61% of economically disadvantaged children are not book owners, yet research is conclusive that access to books in the home is positively related to reading achievement levels. We are making strides to close the gap in book access for our youngest and most vulnerable children and their families through our My Home Library program.
Read Houston Read
Since the 2014-2015 academic year, the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation has been a strategic partner of HISD's Read Houston Read initiative. Read Houston Read volunteers commit 30 minutes each week to work one-on-one with first- or second-graders, giving them the additional support they need to improve their reading skills.
Cougar Tutors
The Cougar Tutors program is a partnership forged with the University of Houston's Advancing Community Engagement and Service (ACES) Institute and the five HISD elementary schools located in Third Ward. Through our partnership, we equip students with home libraries and support the UH Cougar Tutor program.
Reading Roundup
Reading Roundup is a classroom-focused program aimed at inspiring young minds and improving literacy skills. Trained, caring adult volunteers visit a designated elementary classroom at least monthly to engage them in read alouds using specially selected books and guides which build higher-order thinking skills, increase comprehension levels, and boost vocabulary.
Camp Adventure
High-quality summer learning programs can make a difference in mitigating summer learning loss and closing the achievement and opportunity gaps. For the past seven years, the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, HISD, and Children’s Museum Houston have partnered to provide at-risk elementary students in Houston’s Third and Fifth Wards an unforgettable summer learning experience through Camp Adventure.
Curiosity Cruisers
A joint initiative with Harris County Public Library, Curiosity Cruisers are state-of-the-art mobile libraries that visit underserved children in their neighborhoods to provide them exciting hands-on science, technology, reading, engineering, arts, and math (STREAM) programming after school and during the summer months. Children also board the mobile library to select a book to read and keep, building their very own home libraries.
Science of Reading in Action
This initiative offers direct instruction, guided practice, and reading resources to ensure students find joy and meaning in reading. Collaborating with Spring Branch ISD district leaders and teachers, we curated seventy teacher read-aloud books and custom teaching guides to enhance each science of reading component.
Volunteers change lives.
Join us in making a difference in the lives of children and adults through the power of literacy.