HISD’s Family and Community Engagement (FACE) team has been awarded a $5,880,967 state grant that will help the district significantly expand the reach of its Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program.

The five-year Texas Home Visiting Program grant, a project of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, will provide funding for the district’s Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program to support an additional 500 families with children ages three to five. The grant will also support services for parents of newborns to three-year-olds via Collaborative for Children’s Parents as Teachers program and provide funding to support Adult Education classes offered by Houston Community College for parents who wish to further their education.

“Ninety percent of brain development occurs by age five, and school readiness is largely dependent on the ability of parents to prepare their children,” said Dr. Jorge Arredondo, assistant superintendent of FACE. “So we are grateful that we can extend this free opportunity to more parents than ever before.”

HIPPY home instructors visit enrolled parents in their homes once a week to deliver a 30-week curriculum in English or Spanish. The lessons model early literacy activities for parents, who then practice those activities with their children. Research shows that HISD kindergarten students whose parents have participated in the HIPPY program significantly outperform their peers in reading and math.

To learn more about HISD’s HIPPY program and how to enroll for the 2015–2016 school year, visit www.HoustonISD.org/HIPPY or call 713-967-5298.