Jaleel is attending his first day of classes this month at a middle school opening its doors for the first time that specializes in air traffic control, commercial drones and engineering.

His parents decided not to send him to the majority-Black, F-rated campus closer to their home in Fort Bend ISD. Still, they fear their sixth grader may lose out on the community and support that come with receiving an education alongside kids in his neighborhood.

鈥淭his is a very difficult thing,鈥� Mikole Montgomery, Jaleel鈥檚 mother, said of the choice to bypass . 鈥淚 don’t take the decision lightly.鈥�

Black children attend schools labeled as failing by the Texas Education Agency at a far higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group. Majority-Black schools are the least likely to achieve the state鈥檚 highest academic rating.

Of the roughly 300 such campuses last year, 20 received an A. By contrast, 105 scored a D or an F.

On Aug. 14, Texas releases the next round of school accountability ratings, largely based on how well students perform on the STAAR exam. Those ratings, promoted as a tool to identify and hold underperforming schools accountable, also serve as an annual reminder of Texas鈥� struggles to provide Black students a high-quality education, parents say.

That leaves families like Montgomery鈥檚 weighing whether to enroll their children in schools where they may benefit from rigorous academic opportunities but see fewer kids and teachers from their communities 鈥� or keep them on high-need campuses lacking in resources but abundant in love and understanding.

About 60% of majority-Black schools scored a C or better last year, which Texas defines as acceptable performance. By comparison, nearly all majority-Asian schools met that threshold, as did 91% of majority-white schools and 79% of majority-Hispanic schools.

Texas public schools educate north of 700,000 Black children 鈥� more than any other state in the country. And negative outcomes among a disproportionate share of majority-Black schools means thousands of kids could leave without the knowledge they need to thrive, even as state leaders often say that and have restricting the consideration of race in education policy.

Education Commissioner Mike Morath acknowledges that academic gaps between Black children and their peers have long existed in the state. However, he points to the preeminent showing Black students in Texas scoring higher than those in most of the country.

鈥淭hat being said,鈥� he added, 鈥渢he results are still unacceptable.鈥�

Texas must improve the quality of schools and support for all children 鈥� not just some children, Morath said.

鈥淭his is where the A-F indicators are important,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he state’s investment in this is to make sure that our local school districts are changing practices as rapidly as possible to improve these learning outcomes.鈥�

Meredith Anderson, a native Texan who researches K-12 education for the United Negro College Fund, sees the racial disparities in the state鈥檚 accountability ratings as 鈥渁larming.鈥�

Majority-Black schools tend to suffer from inadequate local and state funding, as well as from limited access to rigorous courses that help raise student expectations and learning, Anderson said. Schools broadly also do not employ enough , which can improve learning for all children, she added.

鈥淲e often think about it as more so academic gaps when we just look at the accountability ratings, without looking at some of the underlying causes that contribute to them and widen those gaps,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淓ven if we have these bright spots, overwhelmingly the state isn’t serving our Black students well.鈥�

When Black parents choose not to enroll their kids in neighborhood campuses as a result, that could also mean the students who remain end up worse off.

Texas funds schools based on attendance, which means they lose money to pay for academic supports as families leave. That also often means the loss of involved parents and students who otherwise could help usher in improvements. Meanwhile, negative perceptions of majority-Black schools can contribute to a broader narrative that students at such campuses do not deserve positive attention or investment, parents and advocates say.

鈥淚 certainly recognize the value in these kids,鈥� Montgomery said. 鈥淚 recognize me sending my son to the other side, it says something about how I feel about the kids as well 鈥� whether it’s intentional or not.鈥�

Pressure to improve

The Texas Education Agency evaluated more than 9,000 campuses last year, with roughly 15% of schools receiving the lowest grades.

Of the 302 majority-Black schools in Texas, 35% scored a D or an F, by far the largest share of any racial or ethnic group. No majority-Asian schools received such ratings, while 8% of majority-white schools and 19% of majority-Hispanic schools did.

Texas grades schools based on three primary measures, including how well the campuses perform compared to those with similar percentages of low-income students. Schools typically receive a D or an F if only about a third of students or worse meet grade level on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR.

Alongside the reality that Black students in Texas are those most likely to and and the least likely to , many parents see the ratings as further evidence that the education system is failing their children.

鈥淚 don’t think it takes rocket science for folks to figure out,鈥� said Tyrone Howard, a UCLA professor who studies race and education. 鈥淚t’s the fact that the original sin of this country has always been around race 鈥� structural racism 鈥� and all its remnants still remain in place.鈥�

When a school receives five consecutive F ratings, Texas鈥� education commissioner must either replace the school district鈥檚 elected trustees and superintendent or close the campus. Schools that predominantly educate trigger takeovers most often.

Morath, the state鈥檚 education chief, believes that schools consistently receiving unacceptable ratings reflects a failure by local district leaders to sufficiently focus on student learning. The A-F rating system allows his agency to identify those districts and initiate reforms where necessary, he said.

Morath views Houston ISD as evidence that it matters who runs local schools, as Black students have posted large test score gains since he intervened in 2023. Critics of the takeover often accuse HISD鈥檚 commissioner-appointed superintendent of overemphasizing test scores. The critics question the sustainability of the gains given unusually high numbers of teachers and students leaving the district, especially Black children.

Eight of Texas鈥� A-rated, majority-Black campuses serve children in the state鈥檚 largest district.

Morath sees the academic gains as signals that state intervention works.

鈥淚n many cases, our schools are doing very well,鈥� he said of Texas public education. 鈥淏ut our schools need to get better, and they need to get better as fast as possible.鈥�

The Texas Tribune interviewed two Black former principals of D- and F-rated schools who shared details of their challenges on the job. The administrators asked to remain anonymous because they still work in Texas education and feared retaliation for speaking candidly.

The leaders acknowledge they sometimes failed to focus enough on student instruction and helping teachers improve. But that鈥檚 because they often had to extinguish other fires, such as abrupt staff departures, funding cuts and depleted morale.

Compared with predominantly white, Asian and more affluent campuses, the Black school leaders felt they lacked autonomy to make decisions that would improve learning. They say they missed out on community business partnerships, wealthy parent-teacher groups and instructional materials that reflected their students鈥� interests. They also dealt with students enrolling and leaving at high rates throughout the school year, making it difficult to maintain consistent standards.

There鈥檚 also pressure to improve ratings, not necessarily to ensure learning growth but to avoid state penalties, they assert. The Black campus leaders say their schools focused heavily on students most likely to improve their test scores, which meant little time to prioritize the academic growth of children who came to school hungry or without a jacket when it was cold.

鈥淓xternally, it looks like you鈥檙e a poor leader,鈥� said the former principal of an F-rated, majority-Black elementary school. 鈥淎ll you鈥檙e trying to do is serve your kids.鈥�

School officials can make a difference by listening to their local communities and, more importantly, fostering spaces where Black parents feel they can engage, education researchers say. That includes scheduling events at times when most families can participate.

Still, even the best school systems cannot overcome unsupported teachers or a lack of money to fund the initiatives students need, the experts note. Texas leaders must also recognize that addressing racial inequality cannot happen without honest conversations about race, the researchers say.

Legislators recently targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in education. Republicans approved such measures out of a belief that schools focused more on gender and race than merit and instruction.

But some who study education contend that the unwillingness to address historical racism hurts Black students the most. Research repeatedly shows they benefit from having , while many Black families place high importance on their children reflected in the books they read.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I think the frustration is for a lot of parents, like, 鈥極K, how can I not name what I might believe to be the primary factor in why some kids don鈥檛 get opportunity?鈥欌�� said Howard, the UCLA professor. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just, to me, outright tragic that that鈥檚 where we are.鈥�

More than ratings

Having raised three children and volunteered in the community for more than two decades, Stephanie Brown considers Missouri City Middle School 鈥渢he best-kept secret鈥� in Fort Bend ISD.

What it lacks in resources, it makes up for in dedicated teachers and administrators, she said. Brown believes that if district leaders granted students access to benefits such as commercial drone classes or before- and after-school programs that other children in the district receive, Missouri City Middle School would see similar results.

Brown wants students to know that they are more than standardized tests and accountability ratings.

For the last two years, she has helped organize summer trips to a free engineering camp at Prairie View A&M University, where high school students and middle schoolers stay in dorms and learn about robotics and computer science. She wants to show Black families that they do not need to leave to find a quality education. And the community needs to realize that sometimes, it is not 鈥渂etter on the other side,鈥� Brown added.

鈥淲hatever the data is showing that we鈥檙e lacking, it needs to be on our campuses,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淲e should not have to seek outside resources in order to get it if this data has been showing this all over the country. Because think about it: God didn鈥檛 make one race smarter than the other. So what is really going on here? Where does it start?鈥�

In a statement to the Tribune, Fort Bend ISD officials said students at all of their campuses deserve access to a high-quality education, as well as the opportunities and support necessary to succeed, regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status or ZIP code.

鈥淭he district continually evaluates student needs, academic performance and campus resources to identify where additional support and intervention may be needed,鈥� district officials said. 鈥淔ort Bend ISD remains committed to providing equitable educational opportunities for all students and will continue working alongside our educators, families and community to strengthen student achievement across the district.”

, located southwest of Houston, educates about 78,000 students 鈥� 28% of whom are Black. In 2025, Fort Bend ISD moved up one letter grade to a B and had than in the previous year. Missouri City Middle School was 1 point shy of a D.

When state lawmakers more than a decade ago, Sen. worried that it would disproportionately penalize schools that lacked sufficient resources to achieve an acceptable rating. That aspect of the system continues to bother him, West said.

Given that Texas has fewer than two dozen A-rated, majority-Black campuses, the Dallas Democrat agrees with families who say the education system is failing Black children. But he disagrees with those who say Black parents should keep their children in schools that do not serve them.

鈥淚f they believe the best thing is to take them across the street, then fine. Let them take them across the street,鈥� West said. 鈥淯nfortunately, the downside is that a lot of kids鈥� parents can鈥檛 take their kid across the street, and they鈥檙e left in a desperate situation.鈥�

Local school leaders and teachers must do everything they can to provide a quality education for those kids, West added.

As for the failures of Texas public education, Montgomery said, 鈥淚 think the goal is to keep our kids uneducated.鈥�

That belief fueled her family鈥檚 decision for Jaleel to attend the new Amy Coleman Middle School farther away from their home. She believes Missouri City Middle School employs passionate educators who care about children, but she is concerned about how Fort Bend ISD officials distribute resources.

For example, Coleman has an aviation and aerospace program while Missouri City has one focused on first responders. Those are admirable professions, Montgomery notes, but kids already interact with police officers and firefighters. The disparity in offerings communicates to Black kids at Missouri City that they should not dream bigger, she said.

Montgomery witnessed a fight and misbehaving children while volunteering at the F-rated middle school last year, which she admits factored into her decision to enroll Jaleel elsewhere. But she also recognizes that Jaleel benefits from tutoring, summer programs and field trips that his parents can afford and have time to provide. Not all children in the community experience the same privileges, she noted.

And while Jaleel leaving his neighborhood causes her significant concern, her decision centered on providing him what she is convinced state leaders do not want him to have.

鈥淲hen we think about our son’s education, we think about moving out of Texas,鈥� Montgomery said. 鈥淚 don’t think that these people have my son’s best interests.鈥�

Disclosure: Prairie View A&M University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in The Texas Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete .

This first appeared on .

鈥淚 had to let him know I couldn’t be his dad, but I could be his friend,鈥� said Padia, 49. 

The boy鈥檚 request made Padia, who was 18 at the time, realize the 鈥渋mpact that these programs make on young people,鈥� and it鈥檚 stuck with him for over 30 years.

鈥淣ot every kid has both parents at home. Not every kid has somebody waiting for them at home after school. So, we give them a place to go,鈥� said Padia, who currently serves as a recreation administrator in Arizona. 鈥淭hat’s what these programs mean to young people.鈥�

That young boy was one of the lucky ones, a new study shows.   

Thousands of American families, mostly low-income and families of color, face persistent barriers enrolling their children in after school and summer programs, according to a report released earlier this month from the nonprofit advocacy group . 

The report found in a survey of more than 30,500 parents earlier this year  about 77% who want to enroll their children in after school programs can鈥檛 鈥� most citing cost, accessibility and availability as the main issues. 

The 鈥渦nmet demand鈥� of after school programs affects about 22.6 million children and is expected to worsen unless states take action, according to the report, as President Donald Trump鈥檚 eliminates more than $1.3 billion in federal funds dedicated to these programs. 

The report found that 96% of families in the highest income bracket enrolled their child in some type of out-of-school-activity, 鈥渋ncluding organized sports and special lessons,鈥� which was 30 percentage points higher than families in the lowest income bracket.

Access to a variety of programs often comes at a cost high-income families can afford, while lower wealth communities are more dependent on programs that are subsidized by federal, state or local funding streams. 

The report found that high income families spent about nine times more 鈥� about $6,500 per child 鈥� than low-income families who spend around $730 on average for after school programs. The spending gap has increased since 2020 when high-income families were outspending lower income families by five times as much, according to the report.

Though after school programs were one of the top investments when schools received an influx of COVID-19 funds to support learning loss, the report argued that 鈥渇ederal funding has not kept pace with demand鈥� since 鈥� which limits opportunities and continues to shut families out.

鈥淲hen families can鈥檛 access afterschool programs, we all pay a price. We cannot afford the opportunities lost for youth to realize their potential, for working parents to provide for their families,鈥� wrote Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant and Lisa Lucheta, the organization鈥檚 board chair, in the report. 鈥淢illions of students are being left behind, costing our country dearly now and dampening our prospects for the future.鈥�

Grant, at a news conference in mid-October, added that while federal funding is 鈥渙nly a small percentage of the overall spending in after school, it is absolutely key to helping our low-income families access programs in the after school world.鈥�

The report also found:

• About 84% of low-income families, and 73% of middle-income families, don鈥檛 have access to after school programs compared to 59% of high-income families.
• About half of low- and middle-income parents would enroll their children in a program if it was readily accessible.  
• Unmet demand is highest for Black, Latino and Native American children which has grown between 2020 and 2025 by seven, five and eight percentage points respectively. 

Most parents surveyed recognized the benefits after school programs provide, ranging from keeping students off screens and out of trouble, developing better relationships with their peers and supporting mental health. But it鈥檚 often hard to find programs to fit their budgets or that are conveniently located.

Fifty-six percent of families said the cost of after school programs were 鈥渁n important factor preventing them from enrolling their child.鈥� Nearly half also said their child did not have transportation to and from the programs. 

For families who did have their child enrolled in a program, a quarter of them said they had been on a waitlist; and more than 60% of those same parents said the wait was longer than a month.

鈥淎fter school programs are seen as extra recreation programs 鈥� that are not necessary, not essential, but the harsh reality is that these programs provide so much development for young people,鈥� Padia said. 鈥淲hen you talk about what these programs can provide to communities 鈥� it鈥檚 resources.鈥�

The report cited the grant as the only 鈥渆xclusive鈥� federal funding stream into after school and summer programs. 

Investment into the grant program, however, has remained the same since 2022. When adjusted for inflation, 鈥渢he federal dollars going to support our low-income families has decreased,鈥� Grant said.

Earlier this year, Trump鈥檚 administration withheld , which was later released to states. But advocates worry the money is on the chopping block again, which means state officials are being called upon to step up. 

鈥淭here’s 27 states that have state funding streams. We want to get to all 50,鈥� Grant said.

Washington D.C. in the largest percentage of students involved in programs, with 38% of K-12 students compared to the national average of 13%. D.C. also was named as the top leader in accessibility, which was defined by states that have prioritized funding for transportation and expanding opportunities in areas with limited options.

The report credited the city for its 鈥渟ignificant investments,鈥� in after school programming over the past eight years, including over $100 million of funding in its Office of Out of School Time Grants and Youth Outcomes. 

Hawaii, South Dakota, California and Connecticut followed as top states with the highest percentage of students involved in out-of-school programs. Kansas, New Mexico, Alaska and South Dakota were also highlighted as states leading in accessibility.  

Trump鈥檚 current budget proposal would consolidate 18 education grants, including the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, into one general $2 billion funding stream. 

The Afterschool Alliance said the proposal, if passed, would cut funding for education programs .

What do you say now? I think you must 鈥� we must 鈥� try to remind ourselves of the depth of the loss. To insist that we not lose sight of the stakes involved at Robb Elementary School.

When each of my children was born, I sat up late in the hospital, feeling the rushing currents of reality. It was as if the elemental aspects of life were magnified, every emotion twice as strong, gravity enhanced to make motion seem impossible, my leg muscles inexplicably strong enough to spring up whenever the baby cried out. Each time, I wrote it all down, trying to capture the feelings in the halo of that moment. 鈥淸Humans] are best when we are creators鈥︹�� . 鈥淔rom time to time we produce such shining potential that the daily grind of human life becomes not just tolerable, but comprehensible. From time to time, we produce miracles.鈥� 

That鈥檚 the real reason for doing right by kids. We talk, particularly in education policy, about the demographic imperative of preparing kids for the jobs of the future or of raising standards and achievement for participating in a global workforce. It鈥檚 not that those things are unimportant. It鈥檚 just that children already warrant our love, protection, and investment simply because they are children. They are uncertain promises made to a hazy future 鈥� we owe them the very best we can offer because children are the acme of human creativity, the greatest thing humans can make.

So: what do we do for them now? How do we escape this pattern before the next tragedy sounds? And why is it so hard? 

You should know by now, but just in case, it bears insisting: the United States is the only place in the developed world where events like these regularly happen. As part of a sobering analysis of gun violence data, The Washington Post鈥檚 , 鈥淚n 2019, there were 29 kids under 5 shot and killed in the United States for every kid under 5 shot and killed in other high-income countries globally.鈥� 鈥� more than car crashes, drug-related issues, illness, drowning or anything else. 

In the wake of the tragedy in Uvalde, as has become macabre custom, we are hearing some politicians suggest that the real American problem is that we lack sufficient weaponry to deter mass shooters, including those targeting schools. And yet, . What鈥檚 more, the United States is already awash in guns. . By far. 

Guns are barbarically easy to access in our country. That appears to be the key variable 鈥� that鈥檚 why your American child is more likely to die from a bullet than anything else. That鈥檚 the cause of this uniquely depraved, repetitive tide of violence in the United States. That鈥檚 why there will be another shooting in another school that is at least as bad as Uvalde鈥檚, at least as bad as the horrific massacre of children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. If more 鈥� and more readily accessible 鈥� guns were going to solve the problem, it already would have happened. 

What are we going to do? What are we willing to do differently? 

A parable about American democracy and its recent past: my scientist father introduced me to politics and public policy through climate change. Throughout the 1990s, he got involved in various forms of local environmental activism and dashed off letters to our congressman. 鈥淭he climate science is settled,鈥� he鈥檇 tell me. 鈥淚t鈥檚 now just a question of whether we humans want to actually run the global experiment [keeping emitting higher and higher levels of carbon] and test whether the science is right.鈥� 

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) would send back form letters explaining that the congressman cared deeply about the environment, that he understood that there were strong views on this issue, but that he also believed it was important to 鈥渉ave the debate鈥� about whether climate change was a real problem. 

My dad would shake his head as he read this to us. 鈥淲e鈥檝e already had the debate,鈥� he鈥檇 exhale. 鈥淭he science has been conclusive for years.鈥�

This was the 1990s. It was right around the time that conservatives began lampooning Al Gore as 鈥淥zone Man.鈥� It was a solid 20 years before Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) of Congress to 鈥減rove鈥� that climate change wasn鈥檛 a concern. More people and more politicians are paying attention now. But mostly, the country is floating along, some of us hoping that the data are wrong, others , and most of us acting as though somehow things will get better without us doing particularly much. 

The problem goes well beyond climate change.

I鈥檝e written a few times in recent years that education reform鈥檚 receding political tide has left education policy adrift. Conservative politicians have largely retreated to a world where evolving versions of 鈥渟chool choice鈥� are their only policy tool, even as . Liberals have coalesced around various proposals to invest more in public education, albeit usually without meaningful efforts to reform the inequities inherent in education systems. 

First: The point is not to equate the two positions like some . The point is that everyone in public education has on making the system fairer. There is little appetite for overhauling how schools are measured or run or improved. At this point, we鈥檙e acknowledging that our schools are fundamentally unfair but mostly just hoping that this will resolve itself without requiring any substantive, controversial effort from the rest of us. 

The flattening of education policy thinking is emblematic of our national governing sclerosis. Pick a major issue 鈥� climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, mass shootings, et al. The standard American response now is to muddle through, incapable of mounting a sustained push to overhaul our public policies. When was the last time the country faced a major social challenge and collectively acted to address it? . 

It鈥檚 fashionable to blame this on a dearth of civic education and correspondingly waning public spiritedness. Conservatives have an idea here: They are exploring whether faith in American representative government can be revived by banning books and instruction that teach children about the past sins of American representative government. The last Republican presidential administration converted this instinct into 鈥� censorship in the name of inculcating children with 鈥減atriotic history.鈥�

And indeed, the flagging of faith in our democracy does stem from the presence of evidence, but it鈥檚 not the historical record that鈥檚 to blame. Americans feel as though nothing can be done because we have grown accustomed to nothing being done. We have learned that our social problems are insuperable. Never mind that other countries 鈥� essentially all of them 鈥� have solved the problem of mass shootings. Our public institutions keep teaching us that we must simply accept these crises, that their worsening is inevitable. So far, as with climate change, conservatives seem unwilling to do anything serious to address this problem. 

So perhaps conservatives can now expand their efforts to defend American children from information about American shortcomings 鈥� by banning any discussion of recent massacres in school. If this sounds far-fetched, note that, , the country prevented the federally funded National Center for Injury Prevention and Control from researching gun violence. 

But it is hard to produce patriotic love for a country by hiding facts about it. Mass shootings keep happening. keep becoming inconveniently more common. Hyper unequal schools keep producing unfair opportunities and unequal outcomes for American children. All of this is hard to hide. At some point, our collective failure to do anything to change the rhythm of our social problems becomes a norm too obvious to deny. 

How does representative government fail? One way is when it repeatedly proves to the public that it cannot adequately represent their preferences and address their common problems. 

What are we going to do? Will we really just meander on, aimlessly trudging towards 鈥� and through 鈥� our next collective failure?

We won鈥檛 make it harder to get access to guns. Not for young adults, not for people who can鈥檛 pass a background check, not for anyone. We won鈥檛 impose limits on who has access to guns designed specifically for massacring humans. We won鈥檛 impose new limits on where people can legally carry guns. We鈥檒l just float along, hoping that this was the last time that this pattern will repeat, that the drumbeat will stop in this latest bloodstained classroom. 

To bring a child into this world is to celebrate the full promise of human possibility. But it is also to accept a host of duties 鈥� to be vulnerable enough to take charge of a lived project that is not your own, even if it is in your care for a while. For this project requires you to risk your future comfort, happiness and safety by placing some piece of it in your child鈥檚 hands. Sometimes their lives will validate all of your work and suffering and love, but other times, they will hurt and you will be powerless to protect them 鈥� or you 鈥� from that pain. 

It鈥檚 beyond tragic that we have failed to protect families from these crushing losses in Uvalde and before them, Oxford Township in Michigan and Parkland, Florida and Newtown, Connecticut (and, and, and). But it鈥檚 somehow even worse that we appear willing to keep adding to our tally, waiting for the next time, accepting that nothing is the very best we can do.