Why We Are Here...

In Dallas ISD, approximately one half of all students meet proficiency standards on TAKS exams. By the 11th grade, only 61% of these students take the SAT; of those, one in nine meet the state standard score. By senior year, only 68% graduate, and just 1 in 5 graduates is deemed college ready. For every 100 students who enter Dallas ISD, 14 will leave the system sufficiently prepared for success in college.

Only 5 miles away, in the Park Cities, students receive a radically different academic experience and exit the school system to attend some of our nation's best colleges. In Highland Park, 96% of students meet the standard on the TAKS exams, and more than 70% of students meet the state standard on the SAT. Almost all students graduate, and 86% of those graduates are prepared for college. As compared with Dallas ISD, students are 5 times more likely to leave high school prepared for success in college.

The typical family living in the Park Cities has an annual income of $200,000. This neighborhood, just north of DISD boundaries, is 97% white. The average south Dallas family earns about $17,000 annually and the neighborhoods are 98% people of color.

Children living in low-income communities are already 2-3 grades behind their higher-income peers by the time they reach fourth grade, and the gap only widens from there.

Nearly 85% of all students in DISD are economically disadvantaged, meaning they qualify for a free or reduce-priced meals.

In 2007, the graduation rate in DISD was 62.5%, compared to a 98.7% graduation rate in Highland Park ISD.

While 56% of students meet proficiency standards on TAKS tests in DISD, 96% of Highland Park ISD students meet those same standards.