The new school year began with increasing concerns about the growing digital distractions surrounding young people. A group of award-winning literacy educators from the University of Houston College of Education say a focus on literacy can provide a powerful counterbalance.
“Literacy is power,” said Ashley Surdovel, a graduate of the College’s Professional Leadership Ed.D. program and Tomball ISD’s director of Secondary Reading Language Arts, K-12 Advanced Academics and K-12 Student Wellness. “It is the power to understand, to question, to create, and, most importantly, to change what comes next.”
Surdovel is one of four UH College of Education faculty and alumnae who earned statewide honors from the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts earlier this year. Together, the recipients represent the College’s reach across literacy education — from teaching high school students and supporting teachers across a district to preparing future educators and developing literacy leaders.
2026 TCTELA Award Winners from UH
Margaret A. Hale, clinical professor of literacy education, executive director of the Professional
Leadership Ed.D. program and Ed.D. alum, received the 2026 Edmund J. Farrell Distinguished
Service and Achievement Award — which “represents the highest level of recognition
for sustained excellence, service, and impact within the profession,” according to
TCTELA.
Laveria F. Hutchison, associate professor and specialization lead for literacy education in the Department
of Curriculum & Instruction, was named 2026 University Teacher of the Year.
Zainab Jabak, founding reading language arts teacher at the Young Women’s Leadership School in
Alief ISD, was named 2026 High School Teacher of the Year. The Texas Council has also
recommended Jabak for the National Council of Teachers of English Educator of Excellence
for High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in education
from UH in 2020 and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction in 2023.
Ashley Surdovel, who earned an Ed.D. in professional leadership in 2018, received the 2026 Dr. Roni
Dean-Burren Literacy Leader Award.
Hutchison, who has taught generations of students over her 50-year career, noted that the recognition is an honor but also “a reminder of the profound responsibility we have as teacher educators.”
“Our professional daily work extends beyond preparing teachers and into the role of preparing literacy leaders who shape classroom instruction to support student achievement.”
Laveria Hutchison
Associate Professor
Kimberly Price, one of Hutchison’s doctoral students, praised her mentorship. “Her wise counsel constantly reminds me and reassures me of my purpose and passion for literacy and leadership in education.”
Hale also has helped educators turn that passion for literacy into leadership, both in her UH classrooms and during her time as president of the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts.
A former graduate student wrote, “Margaret does more than equip future teachers with knowledge. She empowers us to believe in the transformative potential of literacy and to pursue great endeavors in service of our students, our communities and our profession.”
“I am a firm believer that readers are leaders, reading is power and that reading makes us smarter and better human beings,” she said. “I want students to be thinkers and readers because one day they will be our leaders.”
Margaret Hale
Clinical Professor
Through their work in local school districts, Jabak and Surdovel are helping a new generation discover the value of reading.
“Keeping reading relevant for today’s students starts with recognizing that we’re not just asking books to compete with other books anymore,” Jabak said. “We’re asking reading to compete with TikTok, YouTube, gaming, notifications and an endless stream of content designed to capture students’ attention. So, for me, the answer isn’t to shame students for those distractions — it’s to make reading feel worth their attention.”
“Zainab has an unwavering commitment to creating a safe, inclusive, innovative reading community in her classroom and at her campus,” one of her award nominators wrote.
TCTELA’s Dr. Roni Dean-Burren Literacy Leader Award recognizes campus and district leaders “whose work advances literacy for all, strengthens instructional practice and supports educators at scale.” Surdovel’s approach is multifaceted and even included starting a book club for secondary English language arts teachers, which participants say reignited a love of reading and discussing literature they can pass on to their students.
But that is just a starting point. “Literacy is so much more than the ability to read and write,” Surdovel said. “It is the capacity to construct meaning, interrogate ideas, communicate with precision and participate fully in an increasingly complex world.”
“When we develop individuals as sophisticated readers, writers and thinkers, we are not merely preparing them for academic success but equipping them to navigate the world around them.”
Ashley Surdovel
Ed.D. graduate
“Our students live in a world that asks them to scroll, click, react and move on. Reading asks something different: to sit with an idea, imagine, question, empathize and sustain their attention.”
Zainab Jabak
M.Ed. graduate
Hale suggested another, more intangible benefit. “I want students to see reading as an option for enjoyment. Reading and writing are pleasurable experiences, but so many students never see or feel that because it is always just another assignment,” she said. “When someone who cares about reading or writing helps a child find the just right book for them, it can make a world of difference.”
Jabak noted the value in intentionally slowing down, reflecting the award winners’ shared belief that literacy offers students more than academic skills. “In some ways,” she said, “creating space for sustained reading is more important now precisely because it’s so different from much of what competes for their attention.”