2016 State of Texas and Dallas Children: Breakfast Briefing and Community

Workshop
Time: 8:30-11:00 am, April 13, 2016
Place: Community Foundations of Texas, Mabel Peters Caruth Center,
5500 Caruth Haven Lane at Central Expy
Dallas, Texas 75225
Website: http://forabettertexas.org/home.html
This probably is the last public event I attend towards the end of the semester.
Words fail me to express my gratitude to my colleague, Jayna Mcqueen, who has
shared this information with me. Though being here for almost 9 months, I am
retarded in locating places and taking in information from local news outlets or other
publicity sources. Admittedly, from the outset, I consider this just as one more
opportunity to finish the class requirement. Yet, being there and listening to the
debriefing is totally another different story.
Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) is housed in Austin, Texas, yet it staffs
have managed to include the whole Texas in their research. CPPP envisions that
every child is healthy, well-educated, and financially secure. The report for todays
workshop focuses exclusively on Dallas area. About 200 people present there are
from all walks of life: lawyers, research associates, school teachers, community social
workers, non-profit organization members, students, judges, school board members,
etc. Also noteworthy is that a large proportion of people are white, and well-off,
according to their attires and cars parked outside the center.
The data CCCP presented reflected problems in financial struggles, insurance,
and educational inequity, which also proves that poverty is the inseparable twin of
race. To pinpoint the necessity of equity in education, the Executive Director, Ms. Ann
Beeson shares her sons experience of hiking with a bunch of children from different
socio-economic and racial backgrounds in Maine, explaining that their success in
climbing to the top of mountains was well grounded in adequate resources and mutual
help, which is also true for education. Meanwhile, she also clarifies the goal of
sharing data with the public, especially communities and policy leaders who are
concerned about equity in education: to critically explore equity and realize the gaps
to close in the future.
CPPP also invites Judge Clay Jenkins, an outspoken advocate for expanded
health coverage in Dallas County to make opening remarks. Following the opening

remarks, a group of artists offered a monologue named Journey With Me adapted

from their personal experiences and data collected by CPPP. One black artist wearing
a blouse with a word future on the front, tells us his illusive expectation of college
education falls apart when the job market fails him because of his race. The
monologue ends with several strikingly impressive questions: Who are you? Why did
you come here? Who are you in my story?
The highlight, of course, is that the CCCP research associate named Jennifer Lee
presents poverty data in Dallas area. She starts with the question related to the three
questions left by the artists: Why do I care about public education (funding)? She
relates her experience of being a second-generation immigrant who was frequently
transferred to different schools and was constantly confronted with the feeling of
exclusion. All these experiences together have made her value inclusion as the core of
her life and career. For her, to advocate and engage in public education equity means
inclusion for people who are vulnerable and on the periphery of society like herself.
Jennifer defines good data as critical ones. For instance, some data might tell us
the sunny side of the status quo, yet hiding the flip side of funding shortage among
people of color. She frankly points out that talking about race makes people,
especially white well-off people uncomfortable, and even painful. So when addressing
education inequity, people unconsciously connect it with poverty, crossing out another
factor race at play. For instance, by breaking down comprehensive data showing 30
percent children population living in poverty, she reveals that there is demographic
discrepancy within this poverty group, that is, a big proportion of this population
features people of color.

She further reveals that educational inequity is also about gender, immigration

status, and many other factors. First and foremost, she displays a Dallas County
poverty map and race distribution map. Surprisingly, putting the two together, one
will find that the two are pretty close to each other.

Therefore, wherever poverty goes, race follows. The map also exposes defects of
building a strong middle class on the top of national policy agenda, in which the
government encouraged to take house ownership while denying people of such
privilege, and the government passes GI Bill to encourage more people to pursue
higher degrees, while people of color cannot claim such honor with minimum wages.
Another key point she notes is that place matters, as places entail access to schools,
groceries, public facilities and resources, etc.
When addressing health inequity, she displays data of insurance coverage gap
about children of different races, which again echoed the poverty situation, that is,
higher percentage of kids of color are uninsured compared with white children. The
same pattern also exists in maternal insurance and food insecurity.

As she illustrates the data of educational funding, she brings people to notice the

opportunity gap between the wealthy ISDs and poor ISDs. Specifically, schools in the
wealthy ISDs are white dominant, and the poor ones ethnic dominant;
correspondingly, the wealthy and white dominant ISDs receive far more financial
funding and allocation than their poor and ethnic dominant counterparts. After the
meeting, during a free chat with one friend, I learn that on real estate websites, rates
of housing depend partly on the race population living there.

During the Q& A session, one school board member from Dallas ISD, raises the
question how to use data to empower communities? Jennifer replies that data are more
than numbers; broadly speaking, data also include stories and information sharing, as
communities can use them to educate themselves, empower themselves and make
changes on daily basis.
Afterwards, I wait to ask Jennifer whether their research work addresses public
education reform, such as school closing, turnaround and charter school interventions.
To my surprise, CPPP dedicates itself to public education funding, rather than
privatization of education. In my light, I consider it as part of convoluted combat

against privatization as it advocates equity and social justice. Towards the end of our
conversation, she offered to connect me to her colleagues who are keen on research on
neoliberal educational reform. The conversation leaves with me the confusion, how
much does raising public funding without examining the structural problems help
with education?
Other organization mentioned in the event:
http://www.inclusivecommunities.net/