A lot of people say they chose to become a part of an organization, but my story is a bit different. Dallas CORE was a godsend, empowering me to address the inequity I often witnessed my students face outside of my classroom's anchor chart decorated-walls. As an educator of six years, I’ve witnessed students face countless life-altering challenges and seen their resilience to push forward. Recently, I witnessed the power of a providing a safe place when a few of my scholars chose to assist me in decorating my classroom rather than hang out with a dear friend one evening. The following evening, they shared life-shattering news regarding their friend becoming a victim of gun violence. After realizing the proximity of tragedy, I sat numb and defenseless. It became apparent that being a teacher inside the building is not enough; there must be a bridge to advocate for students as it pertains to the systemic inequities they face. They are no longer a “name” or “favorite hobby” to me. They are the lens that sharpens my vision to recognize and address problems in the community. Often times, we underestimate the impact of organized people in diverse communities, however, I am ecstatic about the work we have ahead of us on behalf of all children in Dallas.
Dallas CORE is grounded in truth and equity and leverages the power of organized people to create lasting equitable systems in Dallas for all children.
On January 29, over 80 community members came together at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center in Dallas for the Dallas CORE Issue Assembly to share their experiences in education. Parents, students, teachers, and former teachers shared the reasons why they wanted to work together to achieve educational equity in Dallas. That night the group arrived at a consensus with three areas they wanted to address together:
Supporting the Success of African American Students and Improving Racial Equity in the District
Social Emotional Learning
Supporting Students from Insecure Communities
Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “the best way to eat an elephant- one bite at a time.” Community organizing is slow and patient work, dependent on strong relationships, and focused on “one bite at a time.” On February 26, Dallas CORE moved on to the next phase of the organizing cycle - research. Together, they learned how to:
Identify a problem vs. an issue
Develop a power analysis of the city
Create a plan to conduct the necessary research to identify the issues (or small bites) they’ll need to take on to achieve educational equity.
To get involved with Dallas CORE, you can
- RSVP to attend the Dallas CORE Issue Action Team Launch on 03/25
- Sign up to stay informed through the Dallas CORE mailing list
Taji Wright is a proud Dallas native and educator with Dallas ISD. She began her journey six years ago as a science teacher at TW Browne Middle School, contributing to its turn-around success. She specializes in turn-around innovation via personalized and blended learning, mostly proud of providing an engaging and equitable learning experience for her students. In 2017, she had the privilege to work on a shared vision for personalized learning as a Co-Founder of IGNITE Middle School and currently works as a science lead-teacher. She actively sharpens her expertise and is yet still aware of the educational gap that exists. Her ongoing journey in education has proven that ALL kids, regardless of family structures, language barriers, or prior failures can rise to meet the high expectations set forth. She approaches her craft with authentic passion, content mastery, and compassion for the holistic student.