Urban education Assistant Professors John Kelly and Colin Dalton recently led a group of UHD students from Kelly's "Introduction to Special Populations" class on a tour of the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center. Kelly has conducted this eye-opening tour with students for five semesters.

Kelly, Dalton and Assistant Professor Valentina Hardin were recently awarded a grant from State Rep. Sylvester Turner's office to conduct a Literacy Project at the Excel Academy, an accredited charter school in the Detention Center. The UHD students will collaborate with incarcerated youth at the Center to develop five children's picture books (three in English and two in Spanish). This activity is designed to provide the Excel Academy students with an enjoyable, engaging literacy development activity, while allowing our students to gain experience working with at-risk/special populations students. This high-impact service-learning project promises to be a unique experience for both UHD students and the youth at the Detention Center.

The books will be on sale through Barnes and Noble. All proceeds will be used to fund future projects at the Juvenile Detention Center.