The Houston Texans and the Wade Smith Foundation have teamed up to motivate HISD students to read through the Reading with the Pros program. Reading with the Pros will bring active Texans players into a handful of HISD elementary schools twice a month to read to students with the goal of improving attendance and helping students discover a love for reading that will benefit them throughout their lives. 

The program will include four schools in the Sunnyside and Magnolia Park communities: Law Elementary, Mading Elementary, Tijerina Elementary, and Henderson Elementary. Reading with the Pros kicked off on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Mading Elementary where third, fourth, and fifth grade students were visited by Houston Texans legend Wade Smith, along with current Texans players British Brooks and Xavier Hutchinson, who spoke about the importance of developing stable reading habits.

“The Wade Smith Foundation is about childhood literacy and education, so it’s a perfect match for us to come in here to share our passion for reading and come out every two weeks to read to the students,” Smith said. “It’s important that we talk to and invest in our young people so they can give themselves the best possibility to live out whatever dream that they want to.” 

Smith led a Q&A session for the two players and Division Superintendent Dr. Imelda De La Guardia which included questions about their favorite childhood books, how they stay motivated, and how to become a professional football player. Brooks and Hutchinson gave warm and genuine responses centered on believing in yourself and trying to be a better version of yourself every day.

After the Q&A, students returned to class where Brooks and Hutchinson read aloud the first book of the program. Smith announced that the student body that reads the most books by the end of the semester will earn a celebration party, and he promised that some big surprises were in store for the winning school.

“Having the opportunity to see someone that you aspire to be like reading can really help engage that bond,” said Corina Alegria, Partnership Liaison for HISD’s Community Partnerships Department. “It provides a change of pace, having a person who’s a kind of role model reading to them breaks it out of being an academic thing and into being a fun thing.”

To learn more about the Wade Smith Foundation and Reading with the Pros, click here.