Parents need reporters — and vice versa

Parents and reporters need each other, according to this Fort Worth, Texas, parent advocate. (Part of a new series on parent-centered schools coverage from The Grade.)

By Trenace Dorsey-Hollins

My name is Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, mother of two beautiful girls, Darae and Dream, and a fifth-generation Fort Worth resident.

Last year, I founded Parent Shield Fort Worth, a parent movement committed to uniting and educating powerful parents to demand a high-quality education for all children.

While serving as a parent leader in the education sector is new to me, education advocacy is not.

As a parent and an advocate, I’ve learned that schools benefit from outside pressure.

Some journalists and news outlets will help hold schools accountable and point schools toward solutions.

But too many seem focused on covering tragic outcomes.

Too many journalists seem focused on covering tragic outcomes.

Above: Fort Worth parent advocate Trenace Dorsey-Hollins

Since my oldest daughter entered kindergarten several years ago, I’ve had to fight for excellence.

I made sure my daughter was prepared for entering school. She attended Pre-K3 and Pre-K4, which reassured me of her readiness.

We had no problem in kindergarten, but when I received her first six-week report card for 1st grade, it showed my daughter was “emerging” in a skill I knew she possessed. After pressing her teacher and asking if she felt my daughter regressed, she told me that she gave all the students in her class the same grade for the first six weeks to show growth in the second six-week period.

I was furious and knew that should not be allowed. I immediately told my manager there was an emergency at my daughter’s school and I went straight to the principal’s office. I told the principal this was not okay and asked that she call my daughter in her office and ask her these questions.

If she did not know them, I told her I would leave. But when she did, I wanted her grades updated immediately. The principal agreed and made the teacher not only re-evaluate my daughter but her whole class (which was full of Black and brown children).

I was convinced that had I not said anything then, there would have been 25 or more children improperly assessed.

This was the moment I knew I had to pay close attention to what was happening in my child’s school, and it really ignited a fire in me to ensure she had the best.

While that was over seven years ago, teachers continue to overload our children’s report cards with inaccurate information. The failure to provide parents with accurate and parent-friendly data is a major concern.

Above: “We know what’s best for our children”: Fort Worth parents’ advocacy groups are demanding better schools. (Fort Worth Telegram) 

Now that my youngest daughter is in school, I consistently employ checks and balances to ensure she receives the services legally afforded to her.

My youngest daughter is non-verbal and requires a wheelchair for mobility and hands-on assistance for tasks we often take for granted. She started school the day after her third birthday, which was the same time the world opened back up after Covid-19 and schools told us to drop our kids off and leave. I could not just send her in there knowing she couldn’t come out and verbalize her day. I knew I had to stay involved and become the voice for my daughter and all her classmates, too.

Our district was rezoning schools, and the only parents being left in the dark were those with children with unique needs. We were a group of parents who needed extra preparation and time to adjust (for our babies).

As we approached the end of the year without receiving clarity on what school my daughter would attend in August, I started contacting everybody I felt was related to the situation. By the next day, I had the director of SPED calling to apologize that this information was not sent to parents previously and that the district had been aware of those placements for months. By the end of the week, our district had mailed letters to parents advising them exactly what school their child would be attending and recommending they visit the school beforehand.

The director called me a few days later to verify that all parents had been called and had a letter sent to them. I wasn’t sure if they had just sent the letter to me, so I called a few other parents to confirm they were notified. I, as well as others, saw value in the work that I simply felt was “doing what was right” and knowing that this was all to ensure our children received the best. That’s why I launched Parent Shield.

Parents often feel alone or simply don’t know where to turn for support. 

Parents often feel alone or simply don’t know where to turn for support. We never want parents to feel this way. We are the parents that we serve and they will never have to walk alone.

Large school districts like Fort Worth ISD are difficult to navigate, and communication is always a challenge. They fail to engage with parents who look like me, so we never feel a sense of partnership.

For example, parents lack actionable data to help them best assist their children.

From report cards being inaccurate and misleading to parents not having full access to their child’s STAAR test data. We hear from parents every day who believe their child is reading on “grade level,” yet the data tells us that most children in the communities we serve are multiple grades behind. It’s critical that we close the truth gap. So we serve as the eyes, ears, and voice of parents in communities most affected by systemic inequities.

Our team goes wherever parents are. You might find us at the neighborhood laundromat or corner store or sitting in the living rooms of our parents. Over the past year, we have talked with hundreds of families and dozens of community leaders and elected officials, including our wonderful mayor. Sadly, we strongly believe in pulling up our own seat at the table, even when we are not invited to the party. We have built impactful partnerships with Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, some of our city council members, elected school board trustees, and parents who want excellence for every child in Tarrant County.

Above: An article featuring Dorsey-Hollins in the Fort Worth Report.

Sometimes, we dig out information that’s important to parents and help hold schools accountable.

For example, last winter FWISD bragged about providing SAT tutoring at every high school.

Excited to share this information with Parent Shield families, I called a few high schools to get details. This quickly turned into me calling every single high school in FWISD as no school was able to confirm they offered SAT tutoring. Since FWISD had basically flat-out lied, I had to take matters into my own hands.

I reached out to our local newspaper reporters and then made a Facebook Live video. Within 24 hours of making the video, I received 3 calls from FWISD administration assuring they would make good on their promise. This action led to an article in the Fort Worth Report.

Above: Members of Parent Shield Fort Worth

We feel called to this work, but we can’t do it alone.  Relationships fuel the engine of our movement. Period.

We are fortunate that our local newspaper education reporters from the Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Report, and KERA are open to covering our movement.  They have been amazing journalists who accurately and respectfully capture our voice and agency.

Whether it’s a balloon release to memorialize the 69% of students below grade level or the release of our Literacy is Freedom report detailing the work of our summer literacy clinics, they were there.

Local reporters have covered our literacy clinics and the report published about the experience. Because of the relationships we have built, we are able to give reporters tips on troubling developments to investigate on our behalf.

Too often things that happen to the students and families we serve go unnoticed for various reasons, and others often claim to be unaware. We will always work to amplify our causes and parent voices.

Trenace Dorsey-Hollins is a parent and founder of Parent Shield Fort Worth, a parent movement committed to uniting and educating powerful parents to demand a high-quality education for all children. You can follow her at @TrenaceDorsey.

Previously from The Grade

What parents really want
Putting parents front and center
An open letter to education writers