By Dr. Jessica Faith Carter
Forward Times
https://www.forwardtimes.com/
A community’s investment is showing what’s possible when schools don’t stand alone
This past August, I joined volunteers in welcoming Blackshear students, families, and educators back to school to begin or continue their academic journey. Braving the notoriously hot August weather, students arrived with wide smiles, nervous excitement, and a few tears.
Teachers met them with steady encouragement, ready to build on the progress already underway. Parents stood nearby with hope and relief, grateful for a community rallying around their children.
Blackshear has a storied history as the place “where the pride of the Third Ward begins,” but first days of school haven’t always started on such a positive note. Post-pandemic, the school faced steep drops in enrollment, sporadic leadership changes, and increased non-academic needs for families.
This year, however, Blackshear had something to celebrate. After years of instability and underperformance, the school rose from a D to a B in the state’s accountability ratings.
This progress comes against the backdrop of the state’s takeover of Houston ISD and Blackshear’s designation as a New Education System (NES) campus. While the shift has brought new curricula and increased academic support, Blackshear’s gains are also the result of an intentional effort by the school’s leadership to promote and sustain meaningful family and community engagement.
The NES framework may provide structure, but Blackshear’s success rests on the combined weight of strong instruction from teachers, committed leadership, and continuous support from parents and neighbors.
That support was visible throughout the entire school year. Last August, more than a dozen community members from the Third Ward Super Neighborhood, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, and the City of Houston organized a campus beautification day to prepare the school grounds when district landscaping teams couldn’t.
The Parent Teacher Collaborative (TPTC), the nonprofit I lead, donated classroom treasure box incentives so teachers had tools to motivate students. The Blackshear Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) rallied volunteers to paint classrooms, creating a welcoming start.
“It did my heart good to get a call to come and solve a problem,” said Ken Rodgers, president of Third Ward Super Neighborhood #67. “It’s always uplifting to be a part of this campus. I love the slogan ‘where the pride of Third Ward begins.’ With the strides that have been made over the past year, it is amazing to be back here with a B rating.”
By fall, more partners were stepping in. Holocaust Museum Houston and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston donated books to restock Blackshear’s book vending machine, rewarding students for academic progress and attendance.
The PTO’s October “Trunk or Treat” fundraiser drew more than 100 families and neighbors for fellowship and fun, while community partners provided information and resources to help parents access health and financial literacy programs.
In November, TPTC and the Blackshear PTO launched a new grab-and-go pantry stocked with food, hygiene items, and cleaning supplies tailored to family requests.
Parent and family empowerment also took center stage midway through the year. Monthly Family Empowerment Nights at Cuney Homes, a housing community where many Blackshear students live, connected parents directly with the principal for updates and strategies to support learning at home.
“I like how the Blackshear principal comes to the Cuney Homes apartments and engages with us,” said Shaqueria Ford, PTO secretary and parent of two students. “The Family Empowerment Nights also give my kids something positive to do instead of being outside in a not-so-great area. I like it, they like it, we like it.”
Ford added that she hopes more parents will take advantage of these opportunities.
“I want the turnout for the Family Empowerment Nights to be better,” she said. “I would like to get more families to come out.”
The positive momentum of the spring semester continued leading into the testing season. Partners like Fit Houston and the Children’s Museum of Houston donated bikes, hosted art nights, and even made it possible for the entire school to take a field trip together.
Student volunteers from the University of Houston read stories to pre-K classes and guided older students through disaster preparedness workshops.
By May, the Blackshear PTO had raised thousands of dollars and gathered more than 20 community partners, including Starbucks, Houston Public Library, and METRO, for the third annual Blackshear Family Reunion.
This event served as a way to celebrate Blackshear students and educators while also connecting families to programs and services.
Beyond the community partnerships, out-of-school programs such as the Boynton Chapel Music Program and the U.S. Dream Academy added yet another layer of enrichment for students. Through these programs, Blackshear students learned how to play musical instruments, participated in arts activities, and developed skills to help regulate their emotions.
Support for Blackshear was a year-long labor of love for people and organizations within and outside of the Third Ward community.
As Rodgers put it, “We’re back and we’re not stopping. We are still helping. We are still talking and trying to find out what the needs are and meet them to make this the place to be.”
The work is far from done. To truly transform, Blackshear must make significant gains in reading and math achievement—areas where many students remain behind. Just as important, the school must also grow enrollment to avoid falling victim to school closures that are inevitably coming to Houston ISD.
The path forward in the months ahead is clear: strengthen existing partnerships, bring new ones into the fold, and reach more families who can join the Blackshear community. This is especially important given the hundreds of Third Ward children who are attending D- and F-rated campuses.
“Where the pride of the Third Ward begins” is not just a motto. It is a lived reality, built one act of collaboration at a time. Blackshear’s transformation is being fueled by families, educators, and community partners with a steadfast commitment to improving student outcomes.
Sustaining and expanding the school’s progress will take all of us, and now is the time to act. Consider becoming a Houston ISD VIPS volunteer for Blackshear or other Third Ward schools, sharing your resources by participating in school community events, or joining the Blackshear PTO to work alongside a passionate group of supporters who are invested in Blackshear.
Most importantly, help spread the word and encourage families to enroll their children at Blackshear. It is a school that is proving what’s possible when the community stands together for children. Do what you can to preserve a legacy of excellence that uplifts generations of Third Ward families to come.
About the author:
Dr. Jessica Faith Carter is a native Houstonian and career educator who has served as a K–12 teacher, campus leader, university instructor, and consultant. She is the Founder and Executive Director of The Parent Teacher Collaborative, a school and community-based organization that aims to improve student outcomes by building strong collaborative partnerships between parents and teachers. Additionally, she is the Founder and Principal Strategist at J.F. Carter Solutions, an educational consultancy that supports parents, schools, districts, and community organizations in their efforts to achieve exceptional outcomes for students.
