Houston Texans launch new literacy program with HISD elementary schools

The Houston Texans and the Wade Smith Foundation have partnered to encourage HISD students to read through the Reading with the Pros program. This initiative will bring active Texans players into several HISD elementary schools twice a month to read to students, aiming to improve attendance and foster a lifelong love for reading.

The program will be implemented in four schools located in the Sunnyside and Magnolia Park communities: Law Elementary, Mading Elementary, Tijerina Elementary, and Henderson Elementary. The program commenced on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Mading Elementary, where third, fourth, and fifth-grade students were visited by Houston Texans legend Wade Smith along with current Texans players British Brooks and Xavier Hutchinson. They emphasized the importance of developing consistent reading habits.

“The Wade Smith Foundation is about childhood literacy and education, so it’s a perfect match for us to come in here to share our passion for reading and come out every two weeks to read to the students,” Smith stated. “It’s important that we talk to and invest in our young people so they can give themselves the best possibility to live out whatever dream that they want.”

Smith facilitated a Q&A session with Brooks, Hutchinson, and Division Superintendent Dr. Imelda De La Guardia. Students asked about their favorite childhood books, how they stay motivated, and how one can become a professional football player. Brooks and Hutchinson responded warmly, focusing on self-belief and continuous self-improvement.

Following the Q&A session, students returned to class where Brooks and Hutchinson read aloud the first book of the program. Smith announced that the student body which reads the most books by semester's end would earn a celebration party with significant surprises for the winning school.

“Having the opportunity to see someone that you aspire to be like reading can really help engage that bond,” said Corina Alegria, Partnership Liaison for HISD’s Community Partnerships Department. “It provides a change of pace; having a person who’s a kind of role model reading to them breaks it out of being an academic thing and into being a fun thing.”

To learn more about the Wade Smith Foundation and Reading with the Pros program details are available online.