ABC News Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? OffOn The effects of being "functionally illiterate" extend beyond the printed page. • 9 min read First Lady Barbara Bush reads to schoolchildren.David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images, FILE Former first lady Barbara Bush’s foundation is partnering with the city of Houston to increase the city's jaw-dropping adult literacy rates. “One in three Houstonians functionally illiterate," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said at a press conference last week announcing the partnership. "The combined efforts of the Mayor's Office for Adult Literacy and the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation are essential to achieve transformational change in the lives of adults who cannot read.”