Rice University’s School Literacy and Culture (SLC) program, part of the Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies’ Center for Education, has launched a three-year partnership with the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation (BBHLF) to provide research-based professional development, mentorship and sustained classroom support for early childhood educators across the Houston area.
The initiative is projected to train 130 educators across 55 campuses, ultimately reaching an estimated 11,624 students during the program and many more throughout the careers of participating teachers.
The partnership builds on a successful pilot in the spring, when BBHLF sponsored an eight-week SLC course, Developing Oral Language in Young Children. Educators who completed the course helped form the partnership’s inaugural cohort and are now entering SLC’s yearlong Classroom Storytelling program. A second group of educators is beginning the oral language course later this month.
“This collaboration represents a powerful union between two Houston institutions that share an unwavering commitment to Houston’s future,” said Robert Bruce, dean of the Glasscock School. “By elevating early childhood educators, we are not only enriching local classrooms today but also building a sustainable foundation for lifelong learning across our entire region.”
Cultivating teacher leaders
Through BBHLF funding, educators will follow one of two multiyear pathways designed to meet campus needs: Early Literacy Leadership or Campus Leadership.
The Early Literacy Leadership pathway moves educators from Classroom Storytelling into the Early Literacy Leadership Academy, where they develop peer-coaching skills through coursework, seminars and mentorship before joining an advanced leadership community of practice. Participants become teacher leaders who can help transform classroom practices and mentor colleagues on their campuses.
The Campus Leadership pathway prepares educators to establish an Oral Written Language Laboratory (OWL Lab) on their campus through a two-year sequence that includes online learning, monthly Rice mentorship and co-teaching. OWL Labs provide specialized spaces centered on storytelling, play and culturally responsive teaching while serving as learning labs for other educators.
“Our vision for this partnership is rooted in the belief that teachers are the primary architects of a child’s educational journey,” said Jordan Khadam-Hir, director of SLC. “By pairing rigorous, evidence-based coursework with sustained one-on-one mentorship, this partnership empowers teachers to transform their classrooms into vibrant, language-rich spaces where every young child’s voice is heard and developed.”
Investing in sustainable impact
SLC has provided early childhood professional development for nearly four decades, but school and district budget constraints can make sustained, multiyear training difficult to fund. BBHLF’s support will help expand access to Rice-trained educators while providing participants with ongoing mentorship without adding to school budgets.
“Our mission is to transform lives and communities through literacy,” said Julie Finck, president and CEO of BBHLF. “We both firmly believe that empowering educators with the knowledge, tools and resources to be successful in the classroom is the catalyst for children’s success.”
Finck said the partnership’s emphasis on sustained support is intentional.
“Research shows that when teachers receive high-quality professional development, coupled with the resources they need to put those practices in place and an ongoing support system, student achievement increases significantly,” she said.
For Cindy Puryear, chief strategic partnerships and programs officer at BBHLF, the goal is to train educators for long-term impact.
“We believe in building teachers’ capacity, so they can effectively use the resources we provide to make long-term impacts on the children they teach,” Puryear said. “A teacher who has the ability and the will to go from good to great is by far the most important ingredient.”
Through this partnership, participating teachers and schools will benefit from SLC's approach, which is grounded in decades of research on child development, oral language and early literacy development and the critical importance of play-based learning in the early years.
“When young children are heard and valued, they connect,” Puryear said. “They belong. And when a child feels that sense of belonging, they begin to see themselves as capable and confident learners.”
Over the initial three years, the partnership will build a growing network of Rice-trained educators and lay the groundwork for additional OWL Lab campuses across the region.
“Ultimately, this partnership is about honoring the expertise of our educators and the limitless potential of Houston’s children,” Khadam-Hir said. “As we look ahead, we aren’t just training teachers for a single school year — we are building a lasting legacy of literacy leadership that will shape classrooms, schools and young lives for generations to come.”