Test scores show Texas schools are on fire. Parents, what will you do about it?
Mehul Patel Mehul Patel

Test scores show Texas schools are on fire. Parents, what will you do about it?

School districts “need to be more transparent,” said Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, founder of Parent Shield Fort Worth, which aims to give parents information and tools to demand better of their children’s schools. “We all know report cards are not giving the full picture of where schools stand.”

Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/editorials/article289447848.html#storylink=cpy

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Big Districts Like Philadelphia ‘Gamble’ on Higher Spending as Enrollment Falls, Study Finds
Mehul Patel Mehul Patel

Big Districts Like Philadelphia ‘Gamble’ on Higher Spending as Enrollment Falls, Study Finds

“Hopefully, kids will be selecting the right book because there’s not going to be anybody there to guide them,” said Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, who leads Parent Shield Fort Worth, an advocacy group. She doesn’t have a problem with the district closing schools, but understands why some community members pushed back. “Schools are like landmarks where parents and grandparents and older children have gone.”

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A ‘huge win’ for transparency in Fort Worth ISD. It’s now easier to track kids’ progressRead more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article288617660.html#storylink=cpy
Mehul Patel Mehul Patel

A ‘huge win’ for transparency in Fort Worth ISD. It’s now easier to track kids’ progressRead more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article288617660.html#storylink=cpy

“That’s a huge, huge, huge, huge win, especially for parents being able to get transparent information, which is what we’ve been pushing Fort Worth ISD for,” said Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, the group’s executive director. Dorsey-Hollins added that it’s also more user-friendly and easier to navigate for families, calling the district’s previous version “unacceptable.”

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PARENTS NEED REPORTERS — AND VICE VERSA
Mehul Patel Mehul Patel

PARENTS NEED REPORTERS — AND VICE VERSA

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.

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As Fort Worth’s population booms, FWISD keeps losing students. Where are they going?
Parent Shield Fort Worth Parent Shield Fort Worth

As Fort Worth’s population booms, FWISD keeps losing students. Where are they going?

At the beginning of this school year, Makenzie was to move up to Wedgwood Middle School. But Hazel Harvey Peace was never a good fit for Makenzie, said her grandmother, Lisa Henley, Parent Shield parent. Makenzie, who has dyslexia, struggles with reading, Henley said, and she never got the one-on-one attention she needed at her old school. She was also withdrawn and didn’t speak up in class, Henley said, because she was embarrassed about the fact that she was struggling. At the beginning of this school year, Henley transferred Makenzie to the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, a new charter school located in La Gran Plaza de Fort Worth.

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Cough? Sore throat? More schools suggest mildly sick kids attend anyway
Mehul Patel Mehul Patel

Cough? Sore throat? More schools suggest mildly sick kids attend anyway

“Trenace Dorsey-Hollins’ 5-year-old daughter was sick a lot last year. Dorsey-Hollins followed school guidelines and kept her home when she had a cough or a sore throat — or worse — until she was completely better…”

Missing that much school puts students at risk of not learning to read or graduate. Absent students also lose out on meals, socialization with peers and caring adults,

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No more letter grades? Here’s what Fort Worth ISD parents will see on report cards</a>
Parent Shield Fort Worth Parent Shield Fort Worth

No more letter grades? Here’s what Fort Worth ISD parents will see on report cards

"Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, director of the education advocacy group Parent Shield Fort Worth, said she hopes the changes will put parents in a better position to help them if they’re children are struggling. Lack of access to information has been an ongoing challenge for parents in the district, she said. The organization, which lobbied the district for both changes, held a series of literacy clinics across the city last summer.

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What Texas’ Tumultuous History with Literacy Means for Its Children’s Future
Parent Shield Fort Worth Parent Shield Fort Worth

What Texas’ Tumultuous History with Literacy Means for Its Children’s Future

Inside the library on a scorching July afternoon this summer, Trenace Dorsey-Hollins and a group of parents were making their own history. The Parent Shield leaders, a grassroots organization that Dorsey-Hollins launched in 2022, were hosting the first of nine “Freedom July” mobile literacy clinics.

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Many parents don’t know when kids are behind in school. Are report cards telling enough?</a>
Parent Shield Fort Worth Parent Shield Fort Worth

Many parents don’t know when kids are behind in school. Are report cards telling enough?

“A report card is really tricky in our opinion, because you’re just looking at A’s and B’s and C’s,” Carpenter said. Nowhere on the report card does it say “what reading level your baby’s on, and that’s what’s throwing parents for a loop.” By talking to parents about issues like literacy and the nuances of grading, families are better able to advocate for their children in the school system and work in partnership with educators, said Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, a parent and founder of the advocacy group Parent Shield Fort Worth in Texas.

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Fort Worth parents group pushes for more information on kids’ academic progress</a>
Parent Shield Fort Worth Parent Shield Fort Worth

Fort Worth parents group pushes for more information on kids’ academic progress

A parent advocacy group is calling on Fort Worth schools to give parents better access to information about how their kids are doing in school. Parent Shield Fort Worth released a report Wednesday outlining findings from a series of literacy clinics the group held over the summer. The report also included recommendations for boosting literacy rates among the city’s public school students.

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