And welcome back as the school
year starts to get into full gear.
Now W FAA is partnering with United to learn.
It is a Dallas based nonprofit that
uses community partnerships to boost
academic achievement in Dallas ISD.
Joining us to talk more about
this is Abigail Williams,
the CEO and founder of United to learn.
Thank you so much for being with us.
We really appreciate it.
Oh, thank you so much for having me.
Especially in the midst of
back to school season and
this is the busy time too.
And and and I think that,
you know we we hit that realization about
now as to how busy this is going to be.
And you know, we may see some
some deficits, you know,
especially coming out of the,
the pandemic here.
You know, maybe our kids got
left behind a little bit,
maybe there was some learning loss
there and that is where you all step
in kind of explain to people who
haven't heard of this how this works.
Sure. So we team up with 50 of our
Dallas ISD elementary schools and
the job of united to learn is to
step in where public dollars stop.
We provide campus level resources
that help create a safe,
engaging and enriching environment for
every kid to do their very best in school.
And so much of this is focused on
literacy and we know that that's
been really hard for a lot of kids,
especially, you know,
those who were at home learning and and not.
Necessarily in that classroom
environment for so long.
And it is kind of surprising, isn't it,
how long it takes to make up for,
for that deficit,
that time period where kids
couldn't necessarily be together
and may have fallen off some.
You know, you are so right,
it does take time. I'll tell you.
We were so impressed with the
resilience not only of students but
also their teachers over the last
year who have grown by leaps and
bounds we have seen across Dallas ISD,
especially in 3rd grade.
And we're seeing in our schools
where third grade literacy is now
back to where we were pre COVID.
Now that's certainly not enough.
You only have to read the papers
to know that still means that
we're leaving lots of kids behind.
But we know that if students are
learning and they're spending more
time in the classroom and teachers have
what they need to close those gaps,
we can we can continue on that pace.
OK. So we don't want people to hear
that united to learn is on this
and for them to go, oh somebody's.
Taking care of that, it's all done.
I don't have to worry about that.
There are ways for people to get
involved and we know that there are a
lot of people who want to get involved.
How do people get involved with this?
Oh, and we do need them,
and I so hope that they will get involved.
And with united to learn,
you can go to united to learn.org and you
can tell us how you want to be involved.
So we listen to our teachers,
we listen to our principals to
understand what matters most.
But then you can show up
and you can redo a class.
If you love being in the garden,
you can show up on a Saturday morning
and help harvest for the fall.
Or you can come and you can
paint out a new a new science
lab or a tired old teachers.
Sounds to give our educators the
encouragement that they need to at this time.
So absolutely we need everyone and
it doesn't have to cost you a thing
and these children need all the
help that they can get right now.
These, you know, they really are the future.
And so, you know, give a little bit of
your time and and help out with this.
Abigail Williams,
the CEO and founder of United to learn.
Thank you so much for being with
us today and we look forward to
to doing more of these segments
as we go through the month here
just to really get the word out,
especially as we begin this brand new.
School year.
Thank you so much.
And we look forward to a
continued partnership with you.
I can't tell you how much it means
across our Staffs to know that
the community is behind them.
Thank you and thanks for being with us today.
And you know, knowledge is power, folks.
For more information about United to learn
and how you can get involved with this.
There's a lot that you can do here and you
can sort of tailor it to what you're good at.
Just scan that QR code right there
on your screen or you can head to
wfa.com For more information as well.