More than 8,000 minutes of reading for Houston’s biggest day of reading
WHEN: Friday, March 1, 2024
8:30am – 9:30am – Interviews are available beginning at 8:30am
WHERE: Cunningham Elementary School
5100 Gulfton Street
Houston, TX 77081
WHO: Jacque Daughtry, CEO, Literacy Now
HISD Superintendent Mike Miles
Houston City Council District J Council Member Edward Pollard
Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones
Jerry Davis (Making It Better Founder and former CM
Texas Tamales mascot, Tex
WHAT: Literacy Now will host its fourth annual Houston Reads Day on Friday, March 1, 2024, with around 400 volunteers coming together to support and read to more than 14,000 Pre-K–3rd grade students at 44 Houston area elementary schools. This single-day event is for Houstonians to come together to read to students, support Literacy Now’s critical Reading Intervention program, and bring awareness to the literacy crisis in our city. Cunningham Elementary School will serve as the “hub” for Houston Reads Day and feature special guest readers from the community. Major event sponsors include Castex Foundation and Phillips66.
This year’s event will feature books by local Houston children’s authors. Some lucky students will have the opportunity to meet the authors as they read to select classrooms.
- Pre-K: Spencer Knows Spring by Tiffany Obeng
- Kinder: Ava and the Prince by Joy Sewing
- 1st grade: The Yellow Butterfly by Mehrnaz S. Gill
- 2nd grade: Yasmin the Friend by Saadia Faruqi
- 3rd grade: Shiver by Melissa Williams
Right now, only 27% of Houston area 3rd graders are reading on grade level. Research shows the correlation between reading difficulties and a variety of adverse outcomes, including serious behavior problems, joblessness, crime, and homelessness. While Literacy Now has made great strides in meeting the needs of young readers in the Houston area, their work is far from complete. Although the organization has increased the number of students served in their Reading Intervention program by an incredible 176% in the past three years, they are currently serving less than 23% of Houston area children that desperately need this critical program.
Literacy Now supports children and their families throughout Houston with their overarching goal to empower students to read on grade level by the end of third grade, thereby increasing the likelihood that children will graduate from high school and be ready to pursue postsecondary goals.
