This year's Best Of party benefits Score a Goal in the Classroom, a local organization that works to motivate students to raise their grades and improve attendance in school.
by Celestina Blok
For Ernie Horn, what started as a volunteer gig to help out a friend 15 years ago turned into a life-changing passion to make a difference in the reading habits of children.
In 1998, Horn owned his own construction business and would take time away from work to speak to area schoolchildren about the importance of education in being successful in business. In the beginning, he did it solely at the request of his buddy, and former Fort Worth mayor, Bayard H. Friedman, who was working to form an organization dedicated to improving the education level in area schools.
"Bayard Friedman was a renowned civic leader and a mentor of mine," Horn said. "He was concerned about the state of education in our area."
But when Friedman passed away in 1998, Horn found himself inspired to not only continue his friend's mission but to retire from his construction business and take the lead. The organization was Score a Goal in the Classroom, a non-profit that today works to encourage and motivate students from kindergarten to 12th grade to raise their grades, achieve better attendance and become a more responsible citizen. Incentives and positive rewards include sporting event tickets, books, electronics, savings bonds and even vehicles for their school. The organization's mission requires a collaborative effort between the business community, area schools, professional and collegiate sports teams and entertainment venues. A new executive director was supposed to be hired after Friedman's death, Horn says, but Horn fell into the role and never left.
"I've stayed because of my devotion to Bayard Friedman's vision to try to raise the level of education in our community," Horn said. "I enjoy it because I benefited from a lot of educators who really helped me when I was a child."
Ongoing Challenges
As with any non-profit organization, continuously developing relationships with supporters is an enduring challenge, Horn says. But even more so, when it comes to significantly improving the reading skills and education level of schoolchildren, Horn says despite the continued efforts of dedicated volunteers, the biggest and most vital impact is still made at home.
"The biggest need we have in our community is to try to get more parents and grandparents involved in the every day, every night educating of their children," Horn said.
Ross Bailey, associate director of athletics for Texas Christian University and Score a Goal in the Classroom board member, agrees wholeheartedly.
"If we can reach kids and get them to turn off the video game, then we're successful," said Bailey, whose mother and grandmother were both teachers. His daughter is now a teacher as well. "When I was raised, my parents didn't care if I read Popular Mechanics or Car Craft, as long as I was reading something. That's sort of what got me behind this whole thing."
Keep Your Reading Lamp Lit
While Score a Goal in the Classroom offers many programs and incentives to motivate children to read more, including prizes that are distributed by teachers based on performance, one of Horn's favorite programs involves the simple act of reading to a child.
"The program is called Keep Your Reading Lamp Lit. Volunteers go into schools and read with the kids who are in the bottom 50 percent of their class as far as academic achievement. We also award books to children four to 12 years of age," Horn said. "Then we go twice a year to TCU's indoor football facility, and the TCU athletes, who we call the Reading Frogs, actually sit and read with and to the children. They sign their books and talk about the importance of reading. They tell them how they wished they knew how important reading was when they were their age and how they know how important it is now."
Bailey says the athletes are individuals that children often look up to as role models, so their influence is significant.
"The athletes have a lot of blessings and had a lot of things happen to them to get them to that point," Bailey said. "So for a lot of them, to do something like this is just a natural way to give back. When we host these events and you see those children and the excitement they have in what they're doing, I really think the importance of Score a Goal in the Classroom is reinforced every time."
Reading Bee
A program Horn is particularly proud of is the North Texas Reading Bee. Each year second graders from partnering schools compete by showcasing their best reading skills. Each participant reads out loud in front of judges, hoping to advance to district and regional levels before eventually making it to the championship held each November at Texas Christian University. Horn says the bee is the only one of its kind ever established.
"They select the best reader, not the fastest," Horn said. "It's amazing." Reading bee competitors are judged on accuracy, fluency and comprehension. Last year more than 60,000 students participated, and 28 finalists made it to the championship. The 2012 winner was Sam Willey from Holy Family Catholic School, who read at a freshmen collegiate level and received tickets to a TCU basketball game, Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers games, a lap top computer, a go-kart, an iPod and a $500 savings bond.
"One of the neatest things we ever host is the reading bee," Bailey said. "These second graders are reading at a high school or collegiate level. Ernie makes sure everyone goes away with something that makes them feel good -- some kind of little prize. When you see those families" faces when their child receives some recognition, a reward for reading, it just reinforces that whole educational model that's so critical for us to keep reinforcing right now."
The Importance of Teachers
In addition to rewarding children for reading and their academic achievements, Score a Goal in the Classroom regularly honors the individuals who are tasked with educating schoolchildren; those who sometimes receive little credit, or even criticism, along the way.
"We honor teachers as heroes," Horn said. "Each partner school nominates their peers, be it a coach, reading teacher, music teacher or nurse, and we honor these outstanding educators at sporting events or entertainment venues."
Teachers in different categories, including administrators, first-year teachers, special education and more, are selected annually as Bayard H. Friedman HERO award recipients and are given $1,000. Each fall, school nurses specifically are also recognized at TCU football games in front of thousands. The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra also partners with Score a Goal in the Classroom to honor an outstanding fine arts teacher, acknowledging them on-stage during a Bass Hall performance.
"It seems like every time we have the opportunity to honor these outstanding employees in a public venue like these, it's just a blessing," Horn said.
Honoring a Friend
"[My vision is] to challenge our students and educators to continuously strive to raise the level of education and excellence of those in positions of serving our children and communities, and to acknowledge students doing good."
This statement from the late Bayard H. Friedman continues to inspire Ernie Horn to pursue his dear friend's mission. Horn says he first met Bayard Friedman when Friedman's father recruited Horn's father to move to Fort Worth to build the original Casa Mañana in the 1930s.
"My father worked for Mr. Friedman's construction company. When my father passed away, Bayard was very caring to me. I had the ultimate respect and love for him," Horn said.
Friedman's vision for Score a Goal in the Classroom began back in 1992, starting with schools in just the Fort Worth, Arlington and Birdville school districts. Today the organization has grown to partner with 39 public school districts and 49 private/faith-based schools from Dallas to Mineral Wells and from Denton to Cleburne. Horn says the list is still growing.
Regarding the future of the Score a Goal in the Classroom, which touches the lives of thousands of students, Horn says his biggest priorities are to continue to honor teachers and further instill in families the importance of reading with children at home.
"I hope that our communities will be more involved in supporting teachers as heroes and honoring them. I also hope more and more parents and grandparents will become more convinced that they need to sit down with their children at night and read with them and be more involved with the schools in better preparing their children for the real world," Horn said. "It's really been fun to see our children fall in love with reading."
