Heart House is celebrating the expansion of its Reading Homeroom program to a second campus with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The Vickery Meadow-based literacy outreach organization is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. That’s not the only thing Heart House will celebrate in 2025, however, as the organization will expand its during-school Reading Homeroom program to Jill Stone Elementary School starting this school year. To celebrate, Heart House will host a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with the Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce at the elementary school on Sept. 15 from 5-6 p.m.
Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, families and community members can attend a cookie and punch reception.
Heart House’s Reading Homeroom pairs students with volunteer tutors for English tutoring during the school day, a valuable resource in the largely-immigrant and refugee classrooms in Vickery Meadow. The program previously operated exclusively at Lee A. McShan Elementary School.
Schools are a relatively new venue for Heart House, which began offering programs at McShan E.S. in 2024. Previously, the organization provided after-school tutoring at apartment complexes in the area, but was forced to abandon the model in 2021 due to code issues. Heart House still provides after-school programs at McShan Elementary, although it is unclear whether or not they will be offered at Jill Stone going forward.
As an organization primarily geared towards immigrant and refugee children, Heart House has faced uncertainty in the current political climate. Earlier this year, the Advocate reported that Heart House families had expressed concern about ICE raids targeting schools. Threats to Americorps funding have also created uncertainty for the organization, which utilizes Americorps volunteers to fill several positions. However, recent legal challenges have broadly restored funding for the agency.
