Washington, DC (March 28, 2008) – Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15), along with education leaders from across the nation, today unveiled a major initiative to boost literacy in South Texas.
The Congressman, in conjunction with organizations from South Texas and nationwide, announced the launch of the South Texas Literacy Coalition. The group encompasses a range of partners that includes Rep. Solomon Ortiz, Rep. Henry Cuellar, national organizations, community leaders and education experts from pre-K programs and elementary schools all the way to the university level. The mission of the coalition is to enhance learning opportunities for all of South Texas by ensuring children and families have access to literacy services and resources.
“We are here today because we share a common mission – to end the chronic problem of reading apathy and illiteracy plaguing our region,” Hinojosa said. “Right now, we have a unique opportunity to enrich the lives of our students and spark a love for reading that will last a lifetime. While the joy of reading is hard to quantify, the impact of instilling a love for books is not. Children who read for fun on a daily basis score better on tests. Unfortunately, too many of our students struggle with reading and do not have access to the literacy resources they need.”
“This coalition will formulate realistic solutions and long-term plans that will effectively boost literacy in our South Texas schools and improve our region’s productivity and progress,” Hinojosa said. “Half of the adults over the age of 18 in our region do not have a high school diploma or GED. We are laying the groundwork so that this statistic will soon be obsolete.”
The coalition’s initiative could not come at a moment too soon. In Texas, there are 3.3 million residents who are considered to be functionally illiterate; 1 in 4 Texans lack basic reading and writing skills. The cost of illiteracy in Texas is estimated to be over $17 billion a year.
One of the first goals of the coalition is to expand literacy programs in the Region One service area. This provides an opportunity to bring books and other literacy materials to students and families in South Texas and to let children select the books they want to read.
With partner Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the South Texas Literacy Coalition is looking to significantly enlarge the Books for Ownership program. RIF's Books for Ownership service motivates children, families, and community members to read together through a triad of principles: book ownership, motivational activities, and family involvement in children's reading. The goal is to have all of South Texas schools under the Books for Ownership program within the next five years.
"We are honored to facilitate the development of the South Texas Literacy Coalition," said Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO of RIF, which is the nation's oldest and largest non-profit children's literacy organization. "RIF is strongly committed to this initiative. Last year, RIF served over 100,000 children in South Texas through 16 existing RIF programs. This year alone, we will expand RIF programs into 42 new schools, greatly increasing the number of free books distributed to children in the area and motivating them to read for fun."
“I am confident this new regional literacy initiative will spark a love for reading in our South Texas students from preschool to sixth grade,” added Hinojosa. “We plan to put books into the hands of tens of thousands of our youth in this region and implement activities that will broaden their horizons and foster a joy for reading.”
Earlier in the day, Congressman Hinojosa participated in the first-ever Congressional Roundtable on Literacy at UT-Pan American’s Festival of International Books and Arts (FESTIBA). Experts from across the education spectrum discussed the issue of literacy and different efforts being made to successfully address illiteracy and reading apathy within the local community. The discussion was moderated by Univision 48’s Octavio Saenz.
###