Jerry Davis
Vice Mayor Pro-Tem
City Council Member
District B
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Bilal Khan
(832) 393-3292
HISD Press Office
(713) 556-6393
VICE MAYOR PRO-TEM JERRY DAVIS AND HISD CELEBRATE LITERACY AWARENESS MONTH
HOUSTON – District B Council Member Jerry Davis, Houston Independent School District (HISD), We Are in It Together (WAIIT), Cigna, Coca-Cola, HNTB, Allegiance Bank, HillDay PR, Zarinkelk Engineering and Spawglass will partner up to celebrate National Literacy Awareness Month at 1 p.m., Friday, September 14, at Dogan Elementary (4202 Liberty Rd., 77026).
On this promising occasion, Vice Mayor Pro-Tem Davis, HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan, Ph.D., and invited guests will kick off Literacy Day with the students at Dogan Elementary in a schoolwide assembly. In addition to the kickoff, on that same day, volunteers from our community partners and sponsors will take the time out of their schedule to read to students and talk with them about the importance of reading and education. Participating HISD schools will be from across District B.
“We are thankful for Council Member Davis’ support in fostering lifelong literacy among our youngest students in HISD,” Lathan said. “The district is committed to ensuring that all students are reading at or above grade level, and we continue to seek out innovative and targeted strategies through our Literacy By 3 initiative to ensure that we meet that goal.”
VMPT Davis will also announce the 7th Annual Walking Towards Literacy Festival, to be held Saturday, September 29th, 2018, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Tidwell Park Community Center (9720 Spaulding Street, 770116). Walking Towards Literacy is a free fall festival geared to promote literacy as a pathway to success. Several community partners will be participating in this event providing books, health and wellness screenings, arts and crafts for children, and more.
The current District B profile reveals as of 2010, 44.6 percent of District B minors are living in poverty. Only 31 percent of District B residents have obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent.
“This is a very important initiative to me, our principals, and stakeholders. The reason why I wanted to do this is because both my parents were educators in the North Forest Independent School District, my dad was an assistant principal, and I want to practice what he preached, and what he preached was education,” said Council Member Davis. “As we embark on this journey, we hope to improve the literacy rate among District B youth.”
About We Are in It Together (WAIIT)
WAIIT, Inc. is a foundation with a mission to develop young children and communities in Houston through strategic partnerships. We believe that the success and well-being of our community, now into the future, will depend on investing human capital through education, community enhancement and economic opportunities. WAIIT is committed to a strategy that prioritizes these investments to provide an optimal work, live and play environment for the community we serve.
About Houston Independent School District
The mission of the Houston Independent School District is for every student to graduate ready to enter and compete in today’s global workforce. The journey from pre-K student to Global Graduate is supported through HISD’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in every school. With a focus on innovative student learning, HISD strives to educate the whole child by creating a school culture and climate that supports all students, and maximizing wraparound services to address student, parent and community needs. HISD is the first two-time winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education, and is nationally-ranked by the Washington Post High School Challenge Index as well as U.S. News & World Report. HISD is the largest school district in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States, serving more than 214,000 students at 284 campuses. It is one of the largest employers in Houston, with about 30,000 team members.
