North Texas foundation dedicates $10 million to education initiatives

A North Texas foundation is investing $10 million in education initiatives to reduce chronic absenteeism in schools and engage young adults who are disconnected from school and work, among other Dallas-area programs. 

Communities Foundation of Texas announced Wednesday it is committing a $10 million package, which includes grants to For Oak Cliff, Educate Texas, The Dallas Foundation, DISD-aligned non-profit United to Learn, along with $2 million in scholarships to over 400 students.

“Education remains the most powerful force for opportunity, mobility and hope,” said Wayne White, CFT president and CEO, at a Wednesday event announcing the grants. “It is essential to building and thriving North Texas for all.”

Part of the package is a $2 million investment in a chronic absenteeism initiative, which will be led by Dallas nonprofit For Oak Cliff. 

Chronic absenteeism — when a student misses at least 10% of school days in a year — has steadily decreased in Texas over the last three years, but still hovers well above pre-pandemic levels, according to the Texas Education Agency. 

DISD trustee Byron Sanders said reducing chronic absenteeism looks different across age levels, but nonetheless will require going where the “cultural capital” is, or places where children spend time when not in school. That includes places like churches, community centers or food pantries. 

Sanders said school districts must build ties with informal community leaders, who understand what a child is experiencing outside the classroom much better than school officials.

“People were already doing a lot of this work out in the community, but we weren’t necessarily connected with that,” Sanders said.

Measuring the initiative’s progress will hinge on tracking real-time changes in daily attendance, Sanders said. 

The Chronic Absenteeism Initiative will bring in For Oak Cliff, Dallas ISD and other partners over the next year to focus on middle school attendance in South Dallas, south Oak Cliff and the Wilmer-Hutchins area. Some Dallas-area middle schools have absenteeism rates as high as 49%, well above the state average. In the 2024-25 school year, nearly one-fifth of students were chronically absent in Texas.

Last school year, For Oak Cliff launched a “Go to School” campaign addressing chronic absenteeism in two middle schools, resulting in large increases in attendance rates. For Oak Cliff cofounder and executive director Taylor Toynes said the additional funding will allow them to expand the initiative to more schools.

“It’s a proximity thing, actually hearing from the teachers, hearing from the students, and really understanding what works for the culture of that campus,” Toynes said.

Also within the $10 million package, CFT granted $1.3 million to its Educate Texas’ Opportunity Youth Collective initiative to support “disconnected youth,” or young adults who are neither in school nor working. Educate Texas is CFT’s signature education program that includes the Opportunity Youth Collective. The initiative would bring together nonprofits and employers to support these youth and put them on a path to economic mobility.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the rate of disconnected youth nationwide was already at an all-time high in 2019, and the pandemic exacerbated the trend, including in Texas. A combination of stagnant enrollment and decreasing labor force participation means more young adults are not in school or working. 

Engaging disconnected youth and fighting chronic absenteeism go hand-in-hand, Sanders said. Getting students back in school is not just about keeping them on campus, but making sure they are better served because of it.

“We’re going to have more of them stay with us, and they’re going to be living a better version of themselves,” Sanders said.

Additionally, CFT dedicated $3.7 million to Educate Texas’ AI + Education Collaborative to foster responsible artificial intelligence use in the classroom by working with district leaders and nonprofits. 

“If a student can offload an assignment completely to AI, that is not a problem with that student cheating; there is a problem with that assignment,” said Jason Green, senior director of AI strategy at Educate Texas. “This is where we have to ensure that our classrooms are evolving with where the world is going.”

Sanders said the onset of AI in classrooms means schools need to rethink their approach to education. He said schools should now be more focused on skill-building, particularly around critical thinking and problem solving, rather than “busywork.” He encouraged more collaborative, innovative assignments that AI cannot complete on its own.

“It’s AI that’s actually pushing us to get to where we probably should have been already,” he said.

Staff writer Milla Surjadi contributed to this report.

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas. 

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.