The University of Texas at Austin has launched the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color, a new statewide network of public school districts, community colleges, and four-year public universities. The new organization plans to leverage the collective expertise and align existing male-focused programs among member institutions to advance research on best practices to improve educational outcomes for male students of color.
The group’s stated goal is for the consortium “to serve as a force in encouraging more Texas colleges and universities to implement male-focused student programs in response to the statewide policy imperative that is focused on enhancing the participation and success of Hispanic and African American males.”
Funding for the consortium comes from multi-year grants through the Greater Texas Foundation, TG, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Fifty individuals representing each of the 14 institutions met at the University of Texas at Austin at the inaugural meeting of the consortium, and their biannual meetings will continue over the next three years. Their next meeting will take place in mid-December at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth.
I am part of a group of Black Moms whose children are Black Boys. America’s educational outcomes and Zimmerman brought us together. I hope this work will be shared across America, so other states can do the same. All children deserve the best.