Aldine ISD and University of Houston Downtown Showcase Student Illustrators

On Thursday, Feb. 6, Aldine ISD’s Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Department and the University of Houston Downtown (UHD) partnered to host an Illustrators Showcase at the M.O. Campbell Educational Center, to highlight the Aldine students who contributed illustrations to the ongoing Bilingual E-Library joint project.

The Bilingual E-Library is a joint project between Aldine ISD and the University of Houston Downtown. It began in November 2023 and has been ongoing since then. The project aims to bolster the performance of emerging bilingual (EB) students and immerse families in the world of literacy. For its latest addition, Aldine students were invited to create illustrations to accompany stories other AISD students created.

For the showcase, the evening started with a panel discussion featuring several student illustrators and moderators from both Aldine and UHD.

“The best part of the project was that we all did it together,” said student illustrator Bishop Whitehead. “It felt really good to know we were working on something bigger than us. We all put in a lot of work, and it was hard to finish all the drawings on time, but we had each other, which helped us get it done.”

The students were selected from multiple campuses, including Impact Leadership Academy, which illustrated 15 stories; García Middle School, which had 10 stories; and MacArthur Ninth Grade School, which had 12 stories.

The moderators also highlighted several teachers during the panel. They helped guide the students through various illustration techniques and translated their ideas into working illustrations on the page. The teachers included Toby Mccraw from Impact Leadership Academy, Melinda Howard from García Middle School, and Josue Guerra from MacArthur Ninth Grade School.

After the panel discussions, the moderators led the guests and students to a separate area. All the illustrations were proudly displayed across various tables, closing the evening. The guests were free to walk around and admire the illustrations while also being offered snacks and refreshments.