The High-Poverty, High-Minority Neighborhood Where I Teach Has Been Ravaged by COVID-19

The High-Poverty, High-Minority Neighborhood Where I Teach Has Been Ravaged by COVID-19--How is Dallas ISD going to address our unique needs?

Toni Harrison-Kelly, Ed.D.

School Leadership for Social Justice | SLSJ.us

July 27, 2020

Picture replicated from D Magazine

As I watch this pandemic unfold and follow story after story about the glaring inequities in testing availability and treatment in poor, minority neighborhoods, I have been concerned for the families that I serve at Zumwalt Middle School in the heart of the 75216 zip code (see the dark purple on the map above). My school is 72% African-American, 24% Hispanic and 99% low socioeconomic status families. Yet, unfairly, they have had to suffer the brunt of the blows that have been dealt by COVID-19. According to this June article from D Magazine, our zip code, 75216, was rated above all other zip codes on their Vulnerability Index. Meaning, residents of 75126 are the most disadvantaged when it comes to access to proper health care, high numbers of people with pre-existing conditions, housing and job opportunities and more. The article also points out how this map overlaps other compounding issues in 75216, including high rates of incarceration and high school dropout rates. To say that our community is in crisis would be an understatement.

Many questions remain. What types of psychological and academic interventions will be needed to support my students through this type of trauma? What type of additional training will teachers need to be able to provide these supports? Will Dallas ISD provide the necessary professional development required to help our students to thrive in the middle of this storm? A homogenous, district-wide, blanket approach to school reopening this fall will exacerbate the already glaring inequities for our community while dropping me and my colleagues into the middle of a COVID-19 warzone. Meanwhile, teachers and students returning in the least vulnerable zip codes have the privilege of focusing on teaching and learning without having to add disproportionate fear of COVID-19 infection.

Picture replicated from D Magazine

I have taught in the 75216 zip code for eleven years now. I could teach anywhere in the district, but my calling is there. My families that I love are there. My heart is there. But will Dallas ISD be there for us when we need support the most? Or will they ask us to literally risk our lives to continue to ser