Literacy Bus - background with flowers, blue skies, deer, birds, fox, skunk

Embark on a Journey With Words...

The Literacy Bus is an interactive bus that will provide high-quality literacy resources to encourage family reading throughout the Tyler ISD community year-round. The goal is to expand access to literacy development initiatives for low-income students by providing literacy activities and parental engagement in order to increase academic performance of students in Reading and Language Arts.

"The Literacy Bus is just the start of our commitment to impact our student's Successful Student Outcomes. Some of the books will be given to students to build their own at-home library." - Superintendent Dr. Marty Crawford

inside of school bus painted in bright colors on roof. All seats have been removed and bookshelves lined with books are along the walls. Chairs, cushions, stuffed animals are also inside

inside of school bus painted in bright colors on roof. All seats have been removed and bookshelves lined with books are along the walls. Chairs, cushions, stuffed animals are also inside

inside of school bus painted in bright colors on roof. All seats have been removed and bookshelves lined with books are along the walls. Chairs, cushions, stuffed animals are also inside

What to Expect on the Bus

Experiences may include modeling effective literacy activities for families and interacting with self-paced literacy activities for independent learning. Additionally, the Literacy Bus will focus on student skills that research has identified as key concepts necessary for reading and academic achievement: identify and write their name; identify and write the alphabet; demonstrate an understanding of concepts about print; demonstrate phonemic (sounds) awareness; knowledge of sound; learn and recognize known words in reading and writing; and understanding complex text that is read aloud.

inside of school bus painted in bright colors on roof. All seats have been removed and bookshelves lined with books are along the walls. Chairs, cushions, stuffed animals are also inside

inside of school bus painted in bright colors on roof. All seats have been removed and bookshelves lined with books are along the walls. Chairs, cushions, stuffed animals are also inside

inside of school bus painted in bright colors on roof. All seats have been removed and bookshelves lined with books are along the walls. Chairs, cushions, stuffed animals are also inside

laptop, book and stuffed astronaut on a red shelf

Access to high quality books must be a priority to achieve the District's literacy goals.

Our hope is that each year, the Tyler ISD Literacy Bus project will work toward ensuring that children have access to books during the summer months and year-round. High quality literacy experiences are shown to drastically improve achievement in reading and writing for students of all economic backgrounds. And that is the goal of this program: to improve achievement in reading and writing that will lead to successful student outcomes.

inside of school bus painted in bright colors on roof. All seats have been removed and bookshelves lined with books are along the walls. Chairs, cushions, stuffed animals are also inside

inside of school bus painted in bright colors on roof. All seats have been removed and bookshelves lined with books are along the walls. Chairs, cushions, stuffed animals are also inside

inside of school bus painted in bright colors on roof. All seats have been removed and bookshelves lined with books are along the walls. Chairs, cushions, stuffed animals are also inside

Sparking a love of reading is one of the most important ways to foster a spirit of education amongst our youth and equip our students with the necessary literacy skills that they need to take control of their destiny and fulfill their potential.

embark on a journey with words...Literacy Bus - school bus painted blue with flowers, deer, bear, fox, birds, trees, grass

Partnerships That Made it Possible

The Tyler ISD Foundation helped fund the project by awarding a $5,000 grant through its Grants for Great Ideas program. The grant provided funding for the generator needed to power the Literacy Bus while at locations throughout the city.

The Junior League of Tyler not only helped underwrite the grant, they also supported the Literacy Bus through a book drive to help stock the bus with fun books and engaging learning resources, as well as offering volunteer support.

Additionally, the project included the expertise of students from the District’s Career and Technology Center (CTC) who helped with the design and layout of the bus. CTC students and teachers in the areas of architecture, audio-visual, construction, and digital graphics were involved in this authentic work-based learning experience.