Rebecca Roberts, executive director of CYCLE, is amazed every year at how the gift of a bicycle has transformed literacy in Houston. CYCLE, Changing Young Children’s Lives Through Education, partners with Houston-area students to award them a free bike as they improve their literacy skills throughout the year. Roberts, who started as a volunteer with the organization, hopes all children discover a love of reading through the program.
Can you tell me more about CYCLE?
“It’s our 20th anniversary this year. Over the years, we’ve evolved from just giving bicycles away to children as a Christmas gift to using them as a tool to improve literacy. There is a huge gap in literacy in our students across Texas, and definitely in Houston. So, we partner with Title 1 schools. In a perfect world, every child would be entering each grade level at the correct [reading] level. But, we have second graders who still don’t know their alphabet. We have second graders who are reading at third grade level. It’s that big of a gap, and that is what we’re trying to close.”
Why are you passionate about literacy for children?
“For me, it’s the number one tool. If you can’t read, you can’t succeed. It’s as simple as that. It’s so sad that somebody can fall through the cracks, and not learn to read. I’m working right now with my grandson, who is in first grade. The joy on his face when he finishes a book. He is so excited to get to sit down with me and read. I see his vocabulary growing. I see his confidence growing.”
Do you have a memory that stands out with CYCLE?
“At the same school, there was one boy, he might’ve been a sophomore. A big kid. Very tall. Beautiful smile. Lovely laugh. But, he was that kid who always got caught. This [kid] comes in and walks over to this bright pink bicycle. He chose the bike and he said, ‘I did it for my sister. My dad has been deported. We don’t have anything.’ That was huge. To think that child was so motivated to help somebody else.”
