“We have a huge partnership with UH,” Lewis told the students as they gathered in the school cafeteria, where a large red University of Houston flag hangs on the wall. “They are consistently supporters of our effort to ensure our scholars are reading on grade level.”
Blackshear Elementary, less than a mile from UH, is one of six schools in Third Ward that the College of Education is working with as part of the University’s Third Ward Initiative. Teaching majors from the college volunteered as reading tutors in the schools during the 2016-17 academic year, and student-teachers trained at Blackshear and Foster Elementary, helping grow a pipeline of educators to serve in high-need schools.