HISD's Parent Engagement department says the reaction to the Parent Book Club has been so popular, they're looking at expanding the program to other schools.

In an effort to promote the importance of parental involvement and literacy simultaneously, the HISD Parent Engagement Department has launched a new Parent Book Club.

Nearly 30 parents attended the club’s first meeting on March 1 at Roosevelt Elementary eager to discuss the first chapters of the book How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk and participate in the group exercises.

“The book they chose for the club is easy to read and provides them many useful exercises and tips they can use at home to help their children at school,” said Maria Santos, HISD’s Parent Engagement specialist. “The goal of this book club is to get parents to start talking and sharing what has worked for them at home with their kids.”

Many of the parents at the meeting said they’ve already put to practice what they have learned from the book and are already seeing positive results in their children.

“The book has helped better understand my daughter and being able to look at issues at school from her perspective,” said Minerva Salazar, whose daughter attends Roosevelt Elementary. “I’ve also learned tips to help her deal with test anxiety and be better prepared for school.”

Many of the parents also brought their children to the book club meeting so that they could see their parents reading and follow in their footsteps.

“The parents need to be role models for their children and exhibit the behavior they want to see from them in school,” said Santos. “Parents are our students’ first teacher at home and if they see them read, they’ll be more motivated to read in class too.”

Many of the parents are already seeing positive results and have noticed their children mimicking their reading habits.

“I’ve been seeing results already,” said Maria Salazar who has been reading with her child every evening at home. “She’s excited to sit with me and listen to me read every night.”

So far this is the first book club at HISD but the response has been so great from parents that HISD’s Parent Engagement department is looking to expand it to other schools in the near future.

If any parents are interested in starting their own parent book club at their child’s school, they can contact HISD’s Parent Engagement Department at 713-556-7290 for more details.