H-E-B, UT team up to donate gift cards to families, staff at school

Idea inspired by visit to classroom using Texas School Ready! Project

The minute Lindy Snider walked into Mary Ellen Holman's pre-kindergarten classroom at A Plus Preparatory School, she got it.

The mom of a 4-year-old herself, she watched in amazement as one of the students practiced writing her name on a sheet of paper, providing tangible evidence that the Texas School Ready! Project is helping prepare disadvantaged children for kindergarten.

Snider, wife of Larry R. Kaiser, M.D., president of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, requested to see the program developed by the Children's Learning Institute (CLI) because of her interest in children's issues.

"When I was able to see what these children are doing, I was amazed," Snider said. "I have a 4-year-old in a private Montessori school and they were more advanced than my son. It was a very loving atmosphere. The children were happy and organized."

Snider also noticed that the class was studying healthy foods, which inspired her and Kaiser to partner with H-E-B to give gift certificates to the 111 school families and 20 staff members. At H-E-B, they'll be able to find nutritious offerings such as fresh turkeys and produce for their holiday meals.

"H-E-B is committed to health education, and we are always looking for unique ways to tell our customers about the importance of eating healthy and exercising," said Cyndy Garza-Roberts, public affairs director for H-E-B Houston. "We're excited to partner with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston to donate H-E-B gift cards to these children, so they can shop in our stores with their families for healthy meals."

On Dec. 17, Kaiser was among visitors at the class' holiday party, where the gift certificates were distributed.

"I appreciate the gift because we do like to eat and they took the time to do something like this during the holidays, which is the time to share with others," said Michelle Cook, mother of 4-year-old Terrell Wallace, one of Holman's students. "I enrolled my son here because of the CLI program and this teacher. He knows how to write his name and they're teaching him the phonetic part of language and syllable awareness."

Kaiser told the parents and children, "I really appreciate being here today and we're pleased to help you celebrate the holiday. It's a tremendous program and we're proud to be part of it. Your kids are amazing."

Holman was equally pleased to meet Kaiser. "It means the world to me," she said. "His wife came to visit and was impressed and said he could come, but I didn't believe her."

When Snider visited the classroom recently, the children were working with magazine photos of different foods and placing them in a food pyramid.

"The first thing I noticed at the school was the enthusiasm of the staff," said Snider, who plans on supporting many UT Health Science Center initiatives. "They are so excited and so proud of what they are doing."

"It was very gratifying to have her come into that classroom and see her reaction," said Susan Landry, Ph.D., director of CLI and the Albert and Margaret Alkek Chair in Early Childhood at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. "She saw how kids can learn through this innovative model and how important it is for CLI to be doing this type of work." As part of the class' holiday party, Landry donned a Santa hat and read several books to the attentive students.

CLI, part of the UT Medical School at Houston, is dedicated to creating a quality learning environment for all children through research-based classroom curriculum, teacher mentoring and clinical programs.

The Texas School Ready! Project, which seeks to close the school readiness gap for low-income, pre-K children, was created in 2003 by the Texas Legislature, which is the primary funder. The project includes essentials such as curriculum, books and management charts, as well as professional development for the teachers. Private individuals and foundations also sponsor individual classrooms. Holman's class was sponsored through a gift from the Mithoff Charitable Family Foundation.

A principal and teacher for more than 40 years, Holman wasn't totally sold on the Texas School Ready! Project when she first learned it would be coming to her classroom. But after working with her mentor Linda Morgan, a project manager at CLI, she became a strong advocate. As part of being a project teacher, Holman attended teacher training courses twice a month and met with other teachers to share ideas and teaching strategies. The project also provides teachers with a web-based program that produces data about student performance so teachers can make the best instructional decisions. Two additional classrooms at the preparatory school have been added to the Texas School Ready! Project.

"Having a mentor observing and giving me suggestions was very valuable," said Holman, who had not previously instructed pre-K children before she came out of retirement to teach at A Plus Preparatory. "My skepticism about the Texas School Ready! approach began to fade as the children made noticeable progress. They now know how to write and spell their names, do patterns, and count numbers. This program has been very beneficial to them."

Valencia Moses, mom to 4-year-old Jered Sherman, said she was surprised one day when her son started applying what he had learned to refrigerator magnets. "He started sorting the magnets by himself by color, letters and numbers," she said.

At the center of everything is Holman, whose students clearly adore her.

"What you see in Ms. Holman is her passion for teaching those children. She is about making the best and the most of her time with them," Landry said. "Her attitude is 'We have valuable work to do here.' She has very high expectations of them and trusts that they can meet those expectations."

If you don't believe it, just watch them write their names.

Photos by Greg Rutzen, Office of Institutional Advancement

Deborah Mann Lake
Media Hotline: 713-500-3030