Houston Independent School District and Houston Final Four Local Organizing Committee announces the 32 schools advancing to the next round in a bracket-themed reading challenge held in advance of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. So far, 1,141,283 minutes have been read by over 6,700 HISD third graders as part of this program.
In September, nearly 6,800 third-grade students from 68 HISD campuses began participating in the NCAA Team Works Read to the Final Four Literacy Program, which calls for students to read hundreds of books and log their reading time. Schools advance in the literacy competition based on the amount of time their students spend reading. Only schools with the highest average number of reading minutes continue in the competition. Schools that do not advance are encouraged to continue reading, as there will be “Most Valuable Readers” selected at each school.
The competition was created by the district in partnership with the Houston NCAA Final Four Local Organizing Committee and Houston Public Library. Houston will host the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four on April 2-4 at NRG Stadium.
The 32 advancing schools were announced at a district-wide pep rally with performances by the North Forest High School Color Guard and Kashmere High School band. Each school received a classroom set of books during the rally.
All participating schools will be recognized on Friday, April 1 during Reese’s Final Four Friday at NRG Stadium, where the winning school will also be announced. The winning school will receive a $5,000 cash prize, Final Four trophy and a celebration event will be held on their campus, on championship day, Monday, April 4.
List of 32 schools:
1. Carrillo ES
2. Browning ES
3. Dogan ES
4. Fondren ES
5. Marshall ES
6. Kennedy ES
7. Janowski ES
8. Petersen ES
9. Tijerina ES
10. Cook ES
11. Bonham ES
12. Anderson ES
13. Hobby ES
14. Brookline ES
15. Tinsley ES
16. Barrick ES
17. Elmore ES
18. Port Houston ES
19. Walnut Bend ES
20. Patterson ES
21. Blackshear ES
22. Codwell ES
23. Montgomery ES
24. Smith ES
25. Lewis ES
26. Piney Point ES
27. Garden Villas ES
28. Martinez (C.)
29. Scarborough ES
30. Looscan ES
31. Young ES
32. Highland Heights ES