Honor Society Wins Grant for SAISD Literacy Program

(L-R) Dr. Carl Dethloff, SAISD superintendent; Dr. Bradley Petty, ASU PKP treasurer; Dr. Dara Anderson, ASU PKP public relations officer; Dr. Lesley Casarez, ASU PKP past-president; Dr. Tia Agan, ASU PKP president

The national office of PKP annually awards Literacy Grants of up to $2,500 to PKP chapters and individual members to fund ongoing literacy projects or create new initiatives. Angelo State’s PKP chapter will receive a full $2,5000 grant to support San Angelo READS!

San Angelo READS! annually conducts book giveaways and other literacy activities for SAISD elementary students in grades 2-5 throughout the year, including the recent Summer Book Patrol on June 16 that delivered books to more than 25 students at their homes.

Dr. Tia Agan, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction and president of Angelo State’s PKP chapter, will lead ASU’s side of the partnership with SAISD.

Dr. Tia Agan “As San Angelo READS! is a community-wide literacy initiative, it was an easy decision for how we would focus our attention to promote a love for reading,” Agan said. “ASU has strong ties with SAISD and considers them a community friend. Therefore, when we contacted Dr. Farrah Gomez in SAISD administration about collaborating, it was a seamless process to put together the Literacy Grant application in order to put books into the hands of more elementary students. We are so honored to be part of this literacy initiative!”

The PKP Literacy Grant funds will enable SAISD to purchase approximately 800 new books that will support ongoing book giveaways and other summer literacy programs, as well as help expand the San Angelo READS! initiative to include SAISD elementary students from Pre-K through 5^th grade through the 2022-23 school year. The ultimate goal is to provide books for all of the estimated 6,400 SAISD elementary students for the upcoming school year.

PKP is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society that inducts students in all academic disciplines. Induction is by invitation only, and invitations are only extended to juniors in the top 7.5% of their class, and to seniors and graduate students in the top 10% of their class. ASU had 143 students inducted into PKP during the 2021-22 academic year. More details on PKP are available at phikappaphi.org.