Spanish and English guides for Dallas and Fort Worth public schools just came out from the non-profit organization Children at Risk.
Jessica Noel, the group's research coordinator for North Texas, says the guide provides letter grades for local schools, along with other information about after-school sports and music programs.
“Parents are really hungry for that data-driven information," she said. "And so we really feel like this is a resource that doesn’t currently exist in the community and we really want to provide that one-stop shop for parents."
Noel says the school guide contains essentials like test scores, class size, graduation rates and details about magnet schools. She adds the guide was also written for parents struggling with worries over their neighborhood school that may be poorly rated.
“What do I do now?" Noel says parents ask. "What can I do, how do I transfer, how can I get more involved to change that school from within? What are my options?”
While the Texas School Guide currently rates campuses only in the two largest North Texas districts, there are plans to offer guides for more schools across the state, as the budget allows. The current online guides will also be distributed in print versions to parents who want them. Workshops for parents are also planned beginning later this month.
