After the devastation of World War I, Quakers brought relief to the impoverished people of Poland. They distributed food and clothing, along with other relief measures. One of the Quaker relief workers contracted Typhus and died. There were only Catholic cemeteries in this little Polish village, and church law at the time forbade anyone not of that faith to be buried in that ground.
So the Quakers buried their friend in a grave just outside the Catholic cemetery.
Fences keep people out and keep people in. They draw a boundary around who belongs and who doesn’t.
Fort Worth Education Partnership is releasing our annual report this week that details how students in Fort Worth schools are doing academically. As I have reflected on this year’s report, I have thought about the fences that keep people in and out—the fences that keep too many of our Fort Worth kids from access to opportunity.
Our report shows that there is a “fence” that separates 65% of our kids in Fort Worth from full opportunity. That “fence” is not being able to perform at grade level in school. This year’s FWEP report shows that 65% of Fort Worth kids are not at grade level.
Why does this matter? A recent study by the State of Texas followed 3rd graders who scored below grade level on the state assessment. As they followed those 3rd graders over the next 15 years, they found that less than 2% went on to earn a 2- or 4-year degree after high school. In other words, over 98% of 3rd graders who were below grade level did not earn a college degree of any kind.
How our kids are doing in school now matters immensely for what they will be able to do in their future. Our children who can’t read or do math at grade level are stuck behind a forbidding fence that runs between them and future opportunity.
Our FWEP report shows there are 170,000 children in public schools that are located in the City of Fort Worth. Of those students, 39% are in FWISD schools, 48% are in the 11 other ISDs that have schools in Fort Worth, and 13% are in public charter schools. Across all of those school systems, only 35% of kids are meeting grade level standards.
We have issued this report for several years, and, unfortunately, it’s not getting better for Fort Worth kids. The percentage went down one point this year from 36% last year. And when it comes to reading, the percentage of kids reading at grade level in Fort Worth has gone down 3 points in the last two years.
Think about what this means for Fort Worth kids and their ability to access opportunities in their future. Most—not some; most— of our children in Fort Worth cannot read well.
There is fence that stands between most Fort Worth kids and full opportunity. Those who are denied a quality education are denied access to a path to prosperity. If things don’t change, too many Fort Worth kids are going to be left on the outside looking in.
That Quaker relief worker in Poland after WWI was buried outside the fence surrounding the Catholic cemetery. The next morning, however, there was a surprise. During the night the villagers had moved the fence so that the cemetery now included the grave of the Quaker relief worker.
Fences are real, but they don’t have to be permanent. Fences can be moved. The boundaries of who belongs—who has access and who does not, who is in and who is out—can be redrawn.
This is the work that my organization, Fort Worth Education Partnership, is called to, and it is a work and responsibility we share with many other individuals and organizations in our city.
The future is not fixed. We can be fence movers in Fort Worth. If we have the will, we can make sure all Fort Worth kids are included in the abundant opportunities that are possibilities for them.
Let’s be about the work of moving those fences together. Will you join us?
