Parents will now have more resources beyond report cards to keep them informed of their child’s performance in school.
Go Beyond Grades organization is a campaign better to educate parents about their students’ academic performance and provide them with the resources to help. The group has operations going in Houston, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. However, Tarrant County is the first county to have coverage beyond a single city.
The Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Parent Pass, and The Miles Foundation initiated the Tarrant County campaign.
“Go Beyond Grades has the potential to reach a critical mass,” said Pete Geren, president and CEO of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, according to the Fort Worth Report.
The Go Beyond Grades website notes, “96% of Tarrant County parents think their kids read at grade level. 52% of kids actually do.”
The metrics are even worse in Fort Worth ISD, where only 38% of students scored at grade level in reading on their 2021-2022 STAAR exams, according to the Texas Education Agency. For its part, Dallas ISD only clocked 43% in that metric.
Tarrant County is reportedly all-in with Go Beyond Grades, sharing information on each campus within the county’s 20 school districts and charter schools.
With more than 50 billboards advertising the new campaign throughout the county, more parents and teachers are becoming aware of the resources Go Beyond Grades offers.
Go Beyond Grades is also organizing various informative events across the county in April and May. These events will serve as a platform for parents to gain insights on effectively monitoring their child’s academic progress and ensure they perform at grade level.
Local leaders, such as Leah King, president and CEO of United Way, see the organization as uniting the county through helping students.
“It really brings all sectors all together, marking in the same direction and saying we need to provide information and resources and tools to our teachers and to our parents so that — together — they can map out the best game plan for students,” King said, per FWR.
