RACIAL/ETHINC EQUITY

We are committed to equity and justice.

We work to ensure that children before birth through age 5 have the foundation they need to succeed in school and in life.

Vastly different experiences and outcomes of young children based on their race, ethnicity, or language exist within all sectors of the early childhood system. National and local data highlight racial disparities in health outcomes, access to critical resources, and academic achievement. ELA cannot accomplish its mission without acknowledging the existence of these disparities and advocating for justice for historically marginalized people within the early childhood system.

Inequitable systems, policies, practices, and social conditions affecting children, their families, and the professionals who serve them must be identified and eliminated.

The Early Learning Alliance is committed to:

EXAMINING AND DISMANTLING bias, inequities, and disparities in the Alliance’s work and the early learning system that perpetuate advantages for some racial ethnic groups while impeding the development of other racial ethnic groups.

DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING equitable early learning policies, systems, strategies, budgets, programs, and best practices in order to dismantle racial, ethnic, and linguistic oppression, and to promote healing for all.

Language Justice

What is Language Justice? According to Community Language Cooperative,

  • Language justice is more than interpretation and translation, it is an intentional practice that values interpretation and translation as critical tools for opening communication and empowering all voices.

  • Language justice is needed to facilitate opportunity for everyone to engage and participate in the language of their heart, and to create an inclusive and equitable space.

In the Fall of 2022, ELA and Help Me Grow-North Texas conducted a survey of partner organizations to determine how children and families who do not speak English were being served. The vast majority (94%) of responding organizations reported that they did serve clients who do not speak English, with Spanish being the most commonly spoken language, followed by Vietnamese and Arabic.

Although most organizations reported providing services and materials in a language other than English, these were primarily only in Spanish. Almost half (44%) of respondents indicated that their organizations faced barriers in addressing their interpretation and translation needs, including insufficient funding, insufficient translation and/or interpretation services in the community, and lack of knowledge on how to connect with those services.

In response, ELA curated resources to help North Texas organizations identify, access, and fund translation and interpretation in order to better serve all members of our community.

Racial Equity Timeline

In recognition of the impact that race, ethnicity, income and gender have on children’s well-being, in 2015 the Early Learning Alliance began investigating racial disparities and developing strategies to make a difference.

  • ELA hosts an introductory training session, conducted by Leon Andrews, Director of the National League of Cities’ Racial Equity and Leadership (REAL) initiative, for its members, partners and community leaders.

  • ELA establishes a Racial Equity Task Force, and on May 25, 2016 the Center for Public Policy Priorities presented the “State of Texas Children 2016: Race and Equity in Fort Worth” to more than 200 people at an all-day event co-sponsored by the Early Learning Alliance, the North Texas Community Foundation, the Boone Family Foundation and the Annie E Casey Foundation.

  • FWISD Board of Trustees approves a racial and ethnic equity policy.

  • ELA brings REAL staff back to Fort Worth for a two-day workshop with community leaders.

  • ELA Leadership endorses the Racial and Ethnic Equity Process for Designing Programs That Improve Child Well-Being and the tool is rolled out to ELA members and partners in June.

  • The Mayor and City Council appoint a new task force for race and culture. City leaders have met with the National League of Cities Racial Equity and Leadership initiative to talk about best practices other cities have used to unite people across racial lines and other differences.

  • ELA contracts with an expert to facilitate the use of racial equity lens/processes with ELA member and partner organizations. ELA hosts four racial equity trainings, including 17 organizations and 88 individuals.

  • Eight ELA organizations participate in strategic visioning sessions to identify areas for developing or improving processes that address racial equity and unconscious bias in their organizations.

  • ELA establishes a Racial Equity Toolkit for member and partner organizations.

  • ELA partners with the City of Fort Worth Task Force on Race and Culture to implement strategies to improve racial equity in education.

  • ELA and the City of Fort Worth are selected by the National League of Cities, in partnership with the National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers (NCIT), funded by the Pritzker Children’s Initiative (PCI), for a PCI Network grant.

    Additionally, ELA contracts with a racial equity consultant to work with ELA and Help Me Grow North Texas partner organizations to collect and analyze disaggregated data by race to inform planning and appropriate allocation of resources and services. The consultant conducts organizational self-assessments and supports partners in adopting organizational policies that support racial equity in child well-being.

  • Through ELA 2020 Strategic Planning facilitated by the BUILD Initiative, Leadership Team members identify four levels of change for racial equity in early childhood systems: personal, interpersonal, institutional, and structural. ELA constructs new objectives with regards to the recruiting and engaging stakeholders, creating a racially diverse leadership team, racial equity training for the ELA Leadership Team, and ultimately creating a system that prevents inequities.

  • The role of the Racial Equity Task Force is reappointed as a Guidance Council of the ELA according to the revised Rules of the Road, and thus renamed the Racial Equity Guidance Council.

  • The ELA Racial Equity Guidance Council convenes advocates, allies, and activists for racial equity and justice in early childhood for a virtual series of "Show & Tells" to uplift and align anti-racism work across the county. The series had 11 presenting groups and over 100 unique attendees.

  • The ELA Racial Equity Guidance Council contracts with the National Association for Families Learning to provide the ELA Leadership Team with training, facilitation, and consultation regarding racial equity issues in early childhood.

  • The ELA Racial Equity Statement is developed and adopted by ELA Leadership Team.

  • The Language Landscape Survey of 18 ELA and Help Me Grow North Texas organizations is administered and the resulting report is published.

  • ELA curated resources to help North Texas organizations identify, access, and fund translation and interpretation in order to better serve all members of our community. The resources were presented at ELA’s first bilingual Quarterly Alliance Meeting.

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