Success Through Adult Reading

Barbara Bush believed every adult deserves a second chance at learning how to read, write, and comprehend.

A startling 1 in 3 adults in Harris County is functionally illiterate. They lack the skills needed to fully engage in the workforce, participate in society, support their families, and reach their fullest potential in life.

In 2021, the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for Adult Literacy, unveiled Houston’s Adult Literacy Blueprint, a first-ever city-wide plan aimed at empowering more adults with the literacy skills they need to fully engage in the workforce and participate in society.

As one key strategy to advance the Adult Literacy Blueprint, we created Success Through Adult Reading (STAR). The goal of STAR is to bring adult literacy to the forefront and ensure that more adults have access to the courses they need to learn English, earn a GED, acquire 21st Century digital literacy skills, and develop core reading and writing competencies to have a brighter future and better life for themselves and their families.

In partnership with an initial five community-based organizations – Adult Education Center, Neuhaus Education Center, The Alliance, Tejano Center for Community Concerns, and West Houston Assistance Ministries –STAR expands capacity in the number of courses offered and increases the number of adults served.

Story of Impact

Meet some of our STAR recipients and how it is changing their learning experience.

National Literacy Act

President Bush makes remarks prior to the signage of the National Literacy Act, July 25, 1991. Courtesy of the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum.

On July 25th, 1991, Barbara Bush earned the title “First Lady of Literacy” when she and her husband, President George H.W. Bush signed to order the National Literacy Act. Still influential today, the bipartisan-supported National Literacy Act aims “to enhance the literacy and basic skills of adults, to ensure that all adults in the United States acquire the basic skills necessary to function effectively and achieve the greatest possible opportunity in their work and in their lives, and to strengthen and coordinate adult literacy programs.”