The Houston Baptist University College of Education and Behavioral Sciences School of Education Literacy Lab will be dedicated on Wednesday, Feb. 6. An interactive demonstration with Education students will be held at 10:15 a.m., followed by a dedication at 10:30 a.m. in Hinton Center, room 212 on HBU’s campus.
The full-sized classroom is equipped with reading and writing materials, technology, and teaching manipulatives. Renovations to the space and educational items were made possible by the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation and Centerpoint Energy. Materials were funded by the entities and a $2.8 million U.S. Department of Education grant. The room allows future educators to train in a realistic environment, and is a resource library for student teachers.
Dr. Angelia Durand, an HBU Department of Curriculum and Instruction program coordinator, said, “We are so thankful for all of the donors, both public and private, who have allowed us to provide an educational lab for our students to learn and work. We are fortunate to have all of our reading, bilingual education and English as a second language (ESL) undergraduate and graduate courses in the Literacy Lab. Having a set-apart space and the opportunity for students to work with research-based materials is tremendous. We are thrilled that the Literacy Lab allows HBU to offer the very best possibilities for future educators!”
Julie Baker Finck, president of the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, said, “It is critical that both educators and students have the essential resources for teaching and learning. We are proud to be a part of HBU’s Education Literacy Lab and hope it will not only stimulate and enhance education for current students, but that it will help those students be even better educators to our youth.”
Diane Englet, community relations senior director of CenterPoint Energy, said, “CenterPoint Energy is pleased to support the development of future teachers, especially in the area of literacy. Education experts tell us that children must learn to read so that they can later read to learn. We congratulate HBU on this innovative literacy laboratory.”