Education Committee to focus on reading and math readiness
HOUSTON – April 15, 2024 – Good Reason Houston, a nonprofit founded to ensure that every child, in every neighborhood across the Houston region, excels in a world-class public school, highlights its support of the Texas Senate’s education priorities for the interim in preparation for the 89th Legislature. In the recently released 2024 interim legislative charges, it outlines reading and math readiness as one of the state’s four primary focuses for the Senate Education Committee this year.
“Early education, math, and reading readiness are integral to building a strong academic foundation for students,” said Cary Wright, CEO of Good Reason Houston. “Good Reason Houston commends the Senate for prioritizing these areas. We remain committed to ensuring Houston is the top public education city in the nation by building awareness of, advocating for, and advising public school districts on measures to improve the quality of education available to all. We look forward to working with the Senate Education Committee on this charge and stand ready as a resource.”
Some of the most crucial determinants of math and reading readiness begin with early education programs such as pre-K. School districts in Texas are required to offer free public pre-K programs for eligible four-year-old students and many choose to include eligible three-year-olds. Still, six in 10 eligible students are not enrolled in these programs. Good Reason Houston’s Kindergarten Readiness analysis shows that students who attend pre-K are up to 2.5 times more likely to be kindergarten ready, with this impact holding true across all student groups, including Black, Hispanic, Emergent Bilingual, and Economically Disadvantaged students.
To learn more about the educational landscape in Houston and Texas, visit Good Reason Houston’s recent blog post highlighting the Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR) here.
For more information on Good Reason Houston’s efforts in improving education in Houston, visit https://goodreasonhouston.org/.
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ABOUT GOOD REASON HOUSTON
Good Reason Houston is an education nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that every child, in every neighborhood, excels in a world-class public school and thrives in the Houston of tomorrow. The organization builds awareness of, advocates for, and advises school systems on measures aimed to improve the quality of education available to all. Today the organization partners with 25 public school systems that collectively serve 700,000 students across 900 public schools in the Houston region. Good Reason Houston seeks to cultivate a shared regional vision for educational quality, to build the capacity for change required within districts and the greater Houston community, and to foster collective ownership to support student-level results for kids across our city. Learn more at goodreasonhouston.org.
