Fort Worth seniors aren’t going to college. Here’s how a partnership plans on helping
Uwera Esperance, a senior at Polytechnic High School in southeast Fort Worth, has big plans.
The first generation prospective college student, who was born in Rwanda, plans to attend Texas Christian University to study criminal justice and social work, before attending law school.
But as the first person in her family to attend college, the path to realizing those dreams hasn’t always been easy.
“It is stressful, if I’m being honest,” she said. “I don’t think I would have been able to find these scholarships.”
But a team of advisors and college counselors working at TCU as part of a collaborative effort between colleges, schools and philanthropic organizations helped guide Esperance to a free college experience.
“I am going to college for free as a T3 community scholar,” she said.
Esperance is one of thousands of students across the Fort Worth school district who have benefited from the Tarrant to and Through (T3) partnership, the brainchild of now-Mayor Mattie Parker and other Fort Worth leaders that helps students and their families explore and fund post-graduation opportunities including traditional college experiences and certifications.
Program started after report highlighted employment gaps
The program began at just six high schools in 2020, with funding from J.P. Morgan Chase, The Rainwater Charitable Foundation and other partners.
Mattie Parker, who helmed the formation of the program in 2020 before running for mayor, reflected on traveling the country before T3 was formed to find the best models already in practice.
“Today, is really to me a culmination of that … journey to get into this place. Our students in Tarrant County and in Fort Worth simply deserved better,” she said. “And we believe for a variety of reasons the business community was an integral piece of that.”
Parker said that the number of students who weren’t making it to and through college after graduating was unacceptable.
“The greatness of Tarrant County and Fort Worth is simply not possible without a focus on the talent that sits in classrooms today across Fort Worth,” she said. “When only 14% of your low-income kids make it to a two-year or four-year credential, you simply are not succeeding. You are ignoring the wonderful students that sit in classrooms across Fort Worth, that deserve our attention and deserve their talent to be harnessed and flourish here in Fort Worth.”
Beyond those numbers, Inspiration for the program, which launched in 2020, came in 2015, when J.P Morgan Chase released a report highlighting the existing skills gap in DFW, and the need for middle-skilled jobs in the coming years.
David Nolet, a managing director at J.P. Morgan Chase, said that set the stage for a partnership like T3.
“You have thousands of open jobs in healthcare, aerospace, manufacturing … where people don’t necessarily need a four-year degree,” Nolet said. “A six-month or 12-month certification or 18-month certification … can get you to that pathway where you can look up in a relatively short period of time, and go into a job making $50,000-$60,000 a year with benefits.”
One of the main obstacles Nolet said, is that students simply didn’t know that such opportunities existed.
With another record $2 million investment announced Wednesday, the program is expanding to provide on-campus advising and support eight more high schools, and three middle schools, officials announced — with a focus on family engagement.
“One of the pillars of our work is parent and family engagement that we’re launching in the fall, specifically working with middle schoolers and their families to make sure that they’re enrolling in high school options or choosing the right endorsements that lead to livable wage careers,” said Richard Owens, the director of postsecondary pathways for T3.
Scholarships and guidance from T3 will be available to students from all Fort Worth schools.
Partnership builds on existing college advising
College advising was already happening on some campuses across Fort Worth ISD in 2020, when T3 came onto the scene.
Emily Lopez, a senior high school college advisor for TCU College Advising Corps, has worked at Diamond-Hill Jarvis High School for three years.
But when the T3 partnership was introduced, it changed everything, she said.
“By this time of the year, we already had students that were able to go tuition-free to (University of Texas Arlington) and (Tarrant County College),” she said. “It was only those two schools at the time, but it was crazy to think that they had that much more opportunity than the class before them.”
Now there are eight college and university partners providing scholarships and advising as part of the partnership, Lopez said, opening up opportunities for even more students.
Through the program, students who might have never considered college as an option have found ways to explore all opportunities, she said.
“We have students that this whole time they thought they weren’t able to afford college, and now they’re able to go tuition free, which is awesome,” she said. “ And they only have to worry about housing. And most of the T3 partners, colleges and universities are local, so they don’t have to live on campus.”
Emi Gomez, another TCU senior college advisor who works with students at Polytechnic High School, said it means a lot to be contributing to students in a place she was just a few years ago.
“For me, it’s really been life changing,” she said. “I got this opportunity right out of college, but once I realized that my advisor had gone through the same program, it really meant the world to me to be able to give back to my community.”
Gomez said the assistance provided to students ranges from scholarship help, to registering for ACTs and SATs and performing mock interviews.
“We get them started on having that conversation of what they want to do after high school,” she said. “And every student has an answer that they usually come up with, once they get to their senior year.”
As a college advisor, she is sharing her experiences from her time in college, including studying abroad and participating in research, to inspire students to go beyond high school and either go to college, vocational school or into a career.
“I know how important it is when students can connect with someone who is, you know, kind of near their age, but not really an adult,” she said.
The goals of the organization, which plans to expand to school districts beyond Fort Worth schools in the near future, are no small task.
Collaborative effort comes as few students go to college
Only 23% of Tarrant County students in the eighth-grade cohort earn a postsecondary credential within six years of high school, according to T3, even though 65% of jobs in the modern economy require some sort of certification.
Advocates are also concerned about the low number of low-incomes students graduating, and the 10% of students district-wide who don’t graduate high school.
Brent Beasley, president and CEO of the nonprofit Fort Worth Education Partnership, said that investment and collaboration is necessary to bring up chronically low test scores, and help students see a path beyond high school.
“Only 28% of Fort Worth public school kids are meeting grade level standards on state tests,” he said in a statement. “And that translates into most Fort Worth kids not attending or graduating from college or getting some type of post-secondary credential. This is especially true for our economically disadvantaged students.”
The work of T3 will help change the tide, he added.
Fort Worth ISD cheers mentorship of collaboration
David Saenz, the chief innovation officer for Fort Worth ISD, said that the support of the collaboration in mentorship and preparation were just as valuable as the financial contributions announced Wednesday.
“It’s not just about the funds to be able to go to college, it’s about being prepared to get to college,” he said. “It’s about supporting our parents, and educating them as well about how to get their students to get to college, how they get themselves into college. And that’s what this partnership is doing.”
Once students get to college, which is a key push for Fort Worth ISD, the T3 partnership also provides support to students to make it through college.
Rachael Capua, the director of college and career success, said that the partnership focused equally on getting students to college and getting them to graduate.
“We have to fill both the financial gap, so we have scholarships. There’s also an information gap and a guidance gap. So our persistence coaches, peer mentors that work directly with students, allow them to look at things in the classroom and outside of the classroom to help ensure that they’re successful. And then just bridge, the bridge between high school.”
Number of college/career-ready students doubled in last two years
The T3 partnership is just one of several initiatives at Fort Worth schools working to increase career and college readiness, including the Gold Seal Programs that provide career-oriented learning opportunities for students.
Both approaches are paying off.
Only 33% of students were meeting state indicators for college, career and military readiness two years ago, with 64% currently.
Also in the time since the T3 partnership was introduced at Fort Worth schools, 33% more students have completed the Free Application for For Student Aid (FAFSA), a critical first step to receiving many forms of public and private financial aid.
“Right now that is record financial aid completion that they’ve seen,” Owens said. “Which is just really wonderful.”
As Esperance, the Polytechnic senior, finishes up the final weeks of her high school experience, she has already begun sharing her experience to help others.
“It gave me the courage to be able to talk to my siblings about getting into college and using T3, and also my friends, which I’ve helped out and they got the same thing I got,” she said.
Once she helps out her Fort Worth community, she hopes to return to her home country and share her story of success.
“I’ll be able to say I did it. I came from my country … I lived in Fort Worth and I went to school for free,” she said. “I’ll be able to be a lawyer.”
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 5:19 PM.
