Today, 65% of jobs in North Texas require a postsecondary credential, yet only 39% of adults in Tarrant County possess an associate degree or higher.
Understanding the urgent need to find a solution, a group of Tarrant County leaders, led by the Rainwater Charitable Foundation and North Texas Community Foundation, traveled across the country to learn from other cities that put their students on a pathway to lifelong success.
As a result, the Tarrant To & Through Partnership (T3) was formed to ensure that more Tarrant County students obtain a postsecondary credential and that each student has the training and skills they need to thrive in today’s workforce. Leveraging national best practices and building on existing efforts, T3 aims to address the key gaps that hinder students from being prepared for, enrolling in and finishing postsecondary pathways.
On September 15th, Mike Berry and Matt Rose joined North Texas Community Foundation for a virtual conversation with leaders of T3 about the urgent need for investment to provide local students and families the resources, financial support and programmatic opportunities they require.
Philanthropic investments are critical to the success of T3. Already, donations have enabled the partnership to hire thirty-six navigators and launch the program in all Fort Worth ISD high schools, with more targeted interventions in six historically underperforming schools.
To date, North Texas Community Foundation fundholders, including Bob and Jane Ferguson, Barbara and Michael Jiongo, Marty Leonard, Meggie and Dutch Lowy, Lisa and Burch Waldron, and Jim and Becky Wilkes have granted over $170,000 to the initiative so that more students will be given the opportunity to achieve lifelong success.
