Thousands of HISD second-graders from across the district will be awarded bicycles for achieving their reading goals for the semester.

Through the CYCLE (Changing Young Children’s Lives through Education) bike program, students worked with teachers to create personalized literacy goals to help boost their reading skills. Each student signed a contract that once those goals were achieved, they would be awarded a brand-new bicycle and helmet.

According to CYCLE, the program not only helps students achieve grade-level reading, it teaches them that hard work equals reward. Students at Eliot Elementary School were so excited about the prospect of earning a bicycle, they came to school early, stayed late, and tracked their own reading progress for months.

“We believe that with the proper support, resources, systems, and an incentive such as a bike, any student can make significant progress with reading,” said Zandra Aguilar, principal at Eliot Elementary School. “A bike is such a great reward for all their daily efforts!”

This Saturday, Dec. 1, CYCLE kicks off its bike giveaway with the 2018 Bike Build. For three days, volunteers will gather at NRG Center to build 6,000 new bicycles. Then, on Saturday, Dec. 8, the bikes and helmets will be loaded onto trucks and delivered to various schools. For more information on CYCLE and how you can help, visit cyclehouston.org.