Real Men Read is a mentoring program in which men volunteer at least one hour a month to read to students in third grade.
“Real Men Read is not just a program, it’s a passion,” said Read Men Read volunteer Bill Turney, who reads to Askew Elementary School students once a month. “My objective is to transfer to the children my love of reading.” He said that reading to young children not only keeps him young but allows him to experience the joy of being a child again. Continue reading
In this week’s “I Am HISD,” which features district students, graduates, employees, volunteers, and other team members, probation officer Juan Sorto talks about what prompted him to become a member of HISD’s Volunteers in Public Schools, why he is so passionate about working with students in the North Forest area, and who inspired him to reach for greatness as a child.
You approached HISD several years ago with a very specific request: to volunteer in schools that used to be part of North Forest ISD. Why was serving students in that part of town so important to you?
I moved to the North Forest area in 2001, and I still live there today. It has a lot of students who are in the same situation I was as a kid. They are growing up in the same condition—poverty. I was raised by a single mother who didn’t know any English and barely finished the second grade, and I was the first person in my family to graduate from high school and go to college. When I finally reached a level where I was stable in life and had a disposable income, I wanted to get more involved with kids who were struggling themselves but maybe didn’t know how to succeed.
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District kicks off new initiative with HPD and Metro police while celebrating fifth year of Real Men Read
Having a male role model can make a significant impact on the academic and social well-being of a child. Sadly, many students at HISD lack a prominent male figure in their lives.
Fortunately, HISD has several longstanding and new partnerships within the Houston community that are helping to give students a male mentor. On Tuesday, Oct. 16, officers from the Houston, HISD, and Metro Police departments gathered at Peck Elementary to kick off a new initiative that provides male police officers as role models and mentors for students.