HISD counselor highlights impact of HFB school supply program

Rhonda Washington, the school counselor at Sylvan R. Rodriguez Elementary School in Houston ISD, said Houston Food Bank’s school supply program helps teachers spend less time worrying about notebooks, pencils and other basics and more time helping students learn. For Washington, who has spent more than two decades helping students overcome challenges and reach their full potential, the payoff is seeing a child finally understand something they have been struggling with.

The Houston Food Bank program is aimed at delivering essential supplies to students who need them most, a need that becomes especially sharp in late July as Houston families start preparing for another school year. Back-to-school costs can pile up quickly for households across Harris County, and basic items such as backpacks, folders, pencils and notebooks can be the difference between starting the year prepared or starting it already behind.

Washington’s perspective carries weight because school counselors often see the effects of financial strain before anyone else on campus. At schools like Sylvan R. Rodriguez Elementary, that can mean students arriving without the materials teachers expect or families juggling several competing needs at once. When those gaps are filled, children are better positioned to focus on classwork instead of the embarrassment or distraction of missing supplies.

The story also ties into the broader seasonal push across Houston to get students and classrooms ready before classes begin. ABC13 connected Washington’s comments to its larger back-to-school coverage, including the ABC13 Loves Teachers school supply drive, which highlights how local efforts try to meet the same need from another angle. Together, the programs show how community support can lighten the load for both teachers and parents in Houston ISD.

For Harris County families, the issue is practical and immediate: school supplies are not a luxury purchase, but a necessary start to the academic year. Washington’s account shows how a relatively small intervention can help students walk into class prepared, help teachers redirect their attention to instruction, and help campuses begin the year with fewer avoidable barriers in the way.