by: Leslie Fuentes
On Saturday, Dec. 9 every second grader from Park Lakes Elementary lined up with a golden ticket in hand to receive a bike and helmet that each of them earned for achieving their reading goals.
The bicycles and helmets were awarded by Cycle Houston, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve 2nd grade literacy at Title I schools in the Greater Houston area.
Earlier this school year, Park Lakes Elementary partnered with the organization, marking the first time that Cycle Houston extended its services to a school in Humble ISD.
“Children who reach the fourth grade without being able to read are more likely to drop out of high school,” Assistant Principal of Park Lakes Elementary Soviet Threatt said. “That is why Cycle Houston focuses their attention on the second grade, in an effort to intervene early.”
As part of the program, all second grade teachers at Park Lakes Elementary tested their students' reading levels at the beginning of the year to determine a reading goal for each of their students.
Students were told that if they met their reading goal by Dec. 1, they would be awarded a bike and a helmet through Cycle Houston
“Ever since my daughter was in the first grade, she was ready to just start learning how to read, so I think this gave her a boost to get out there and start reading,” Sandra Macias, a parent of a second grader at Park Lakes, said. “I noticed that she can read more words now, and she just wants to read everyday.”
Claudia Thomas, Principal of Park Lakes Elementary, said that everyone, including herself, the assistant principal and the teachers at Park Lakes worked together to motivate students to improve their literacy skills and to help them set individual reading goals.
“She’s enjoying reading more, and her reading is getting a lot better,” Patricia Gomez said about her child who is a second grader at Park Lakes. “Everything she picks up, she’s able to read, and I’ve never seen them do anything like this before, but I really loved it.”
Mr. Threatt reported that every second grader at Park Lakes met their goal when they completed their middle-of-the-year assessment and demonstrated that they are growing in the area of reading comprehension and fluency.
“Just the fact that they grew from the beginning of the year to the middle of the year is a cause for celebration,” Ms. Thomas said. “Even if it’s a little growth, as long as students are growing, we are always celebrating those little milestones because we want them to grow as readers. We know that if they grew from the beginning of the year to the middle of the year, then they’ll definitely make that growth from the middle of the year to the end of the year.”
To award the achievements of the second graders, Cycle Houston visited Park Lakes Elementary on Saturday, Dec. 9 to donate a bike to every second grader at the school.
“The families of the students were very excited to be here on Saturday,” Ms. Thomas said. “Some of them don’t own a bike, so this was the first bike that they have ever received.”
Mr. Threatt announced that Cycle Houston has committed to returning to Park Lakes Elementary every school year so that every year, second grade students at Park Lakes can earn bikes for improving their literacy skills and achieving their reading goals.
“Just like with anything, the more you read, the better you get at it,” Mr. Threatt said. “We hope this inspires kids to develop a life-long love for reading.”
Learn more about Cycle Houston at Cyclehouston.org
