Business Leaders Read to Corpus Christi Students
Nearly 200 Coastal Bend leaders joined Drop Everything and Read Day at Gloria Hicks Elementary School.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Primary Education
Nearly 200 business leaders and community dignitaries from the Coastal Bend read aloud to students at Gloria Hicks Elementary School in Corpus Christi on a Wednesday morning, as part of Drop Everything and Read Day. Each guest selected a book and read to classrooms from pre-K through fifth grade, including special education classrooms.
Why it matters
The event connects Corpus Christi students with their community and underscores the role of local leaders in supporting education. Organizers say the school has seen gains in reading levels, fluency and spelling over the years of participation.
Nearly 200 business leaders and community dignitaries took part in the Wednesday morning event on November 4, 2026. Hicks Layton has participated for about 10 years, and the source does not report the specific metrics behind the school's improvements.
The players
Gloria Hicks Elementary School
A public elementary school in Corpus Christi, Texas, serving students from pre-K through fifth grade and hosting the annual reading event.
Hicks Layton
A longtime participant in the Drop Everything and Read Day event at Gloria Hicks Elementary, credited with about a decade of involvement.
The details
Each guest chose a book and read in classrooms serving pre-K through fifth grade, including special education rooms. The event is intended to remind the community of the importance of education and to bring visitors into direct contact with young readers.
Timeline
Wednesday, November 4, 2026: Drop Everything and Read Day event held at Gloria Hicks Elementary School.
About 10 years: Hicks Layton's participation in the annual event.
Community Education Connection
Drop Everything and Read Day, the national reading initiative that this Corpus Christi event is part of, aims to put reading in front of students through adults outside the classroom. The Gloria Hicks event places Coastal Bend business leaders into that same model at the elementary level.
Families in Corpus Christi may see more adults from local businesses reading in their children's classrooms as the program continues. Parents of students at Gloria Hicks can expect this kind of community reading presence to recur in the school calendar.
The takeaway
Regular, personal reading time with adults outside the family can reinforce the fluency and spelling skills that schools track. Families can support this at home by reading aloud together for a few minutes each day.
Further reading
For more on how schools build reading habits from the earliest grades, explore Primary Education coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KRIS.
