For Oak Cliff celebrated the Dallas ISD educators helping students get back in the classroom Monday evening, recognizing the teachers and staff behind the first year of its Home Visits, Incentives, and Training (HIT) initiative during the inaugural World Chronic Absenteeism Awareness Day.

The celebration, held at the Dallas Zoo, brought together educators and For Oak Cliff leaders to reflect on the program’s first-year results, share what they learned from working directly with students and families, and recognize the people who turned the initiative into measurable change on their campuses.

Launched during the 2025-26 school year with support from Communities Foundation of Texas, the HIT pilot partnered with Albert C. Black Jr. STEAM Academy and Dr. Frederick Douglass Todd Middle School, the two South Oak Cliff feeder schools with the highest rates of absenteeism.

More than 40 staff members were trained through the initiative, with a core team of 16 educators and staff members reaching 286 students and families through home visits. Rather than focusing solely on perfect attendance, HIT uses relationship-building, targeted incentives, and educator training to recognize improvement and help families overcome barriers that keep students out of school.

 

(DWG Studio)

The first-year results were exceptional! Todd Middle School increased average daily attendance by 8.6%, an improvement reported as the largest attendance increase across Dallas ISD during the 2025-26 school year. The school’s accountability rating also improved from a D to a B. At Black STEAM Academy, chronic absenteeism decreased by 9%.

“Chronic absenteeism is rarely about a student or family simply not valuing school. It is often a sign that there is a barrier we have to understand before we can help remove it,” said Dr. Shareefah Mason, Director of Cradle to Career Education at For Oak Cliff. “The first year of HIT (Home visits, Incentives, and Training) showed us what can happen when educators have the tools and support to build deeper relationships with families, recognize progress, and respond to what students actually need. As we expand this work, we are building on what these educators learned and the trust they created with their school communities.”

Monday’s event featured two panel discussions examining chronic absenteeism from early childhood through college and the role community partners can play in improving attendance. The Early Childhood through College panel included Dominique McCain, President and CEO of Educational First Steps; Dr. Charlmaine Lewis, Assistant Principal at A.C. Black STEAM Academy; Umoja Turner, Executive Director of the South Oak Cliff Feeder for Dallas ISD; Erlene Williams, Director of Attendance Intervention Programs for Dallas ISD; and Dr. Macario Hernandez, President of Dallas College Mountain View Campus. The Activating Communities panel included Kevin Malonson, CEO of Dallas Afterschool; Dr. Candace Thompson, Community Philanthropy Officer at Communities Foundation of Texas; and Candace Sledge, Community Impact Manager for the Dallas Mavericks.

The program also featured the moving and illuminating poem “I Know You Want Me There,” written by Dr. Shareefah Mason and Carter Jenkins and delivered in a powerful performance by Jenkins, a 10-year-old 5th-grade student.

For Oak Cliff recognized educators and staff from the two pilot campuses with certificates for their work through the HIT initiative. Recipients from Albert C. Black Jr. STEAM Academy were Angela Adams, Josephine Lawrence, Dr. Charlmaine Lewis, Kimberly Mitchell, Christie White, Drew Williams, Jacqueline Sneed, and Olivia Woodard.

Certificate recipients from Dr. Frederick Douglass Todd Middle School were Deana Willams, Latoya Bowen, Deandreia Broadnax, Tonya Dorsey-Dews, Janirra Smith, Kimberly Harrison, Angela Burley, and Shavonn Stearns.

With a remarkably successful first year behind it, HIT is gaining momentum. For Oak Cliff is bringing the initiative back to Black STEAM Academy and Todd Middle School for the 2026-27 school year and expanding to two additional South Oak Cliff campuses, John Lewis Social Justice Academy and Boude Storey Middle School, reaching even more students and families across the community.

The expansion will allow For Oak Cliff and participating educators to build on lessons from the pilot while reaching more students and families across the South Oak Cliff community.

Learn more about the Go To School Initiative, For Oak Cliff, and its work to support students and families: GoToSchoolDallas.com.