Today we’d like to introduce you to Trenace Dorsey-Hollins.
Hi Trenace, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started my advocacy journey when I had my oldest daughter who is now headed to high school. I poured so much into her to prepare her to prepare her for kinder. Upon entering kinder, she is given a performance evaluation of “emerging” in several areas that I knew she had mastered. After going to the teacher and principal, I learned that the teacher put every student on the same level for her convenience. This sent my antennae up and landed me on high alert – a space I remain to this day. Then, once I learned about charter schools and enrolled my child my oldest child my advocacy journey was well on its way.
However, my youngest daughter has unique needs which boosted my advocacy for all children. These experiences led me to look for better situations for my children and want to help any parent that needed it. Today, I continue to advocate for my children and all children in FWISD through my organization Parent Shield Fort Worth.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. It’s not commonly viewed that parents should be leading this effort even though we have the most invested. One of the main struggles is lack of respect from elected officials and school district officials. Even though it’s our children in the system, it’s a challenge to get people with power to view us as equals.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Parent Shield Fort Worth educates and organizes parents around important educational issues that affect our children and their future. We specialize in amplifying and bringing parent voice to tables where we are not normally invited.
I am known as a community advocate that addresses inequities in our local schools and creates/demands changes that benefit children and parents. What sets me apart from others is my deep commitment and love for my community. As a fifth generation Fort Worth resident, I believe in this community and know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, parents are the missing piece of the puzzle to ensure all children have quality education in Tarrant County.
I’m most proud that parents are uniting and bringing in other parents. PSFW is being sought out for schools and community organizations to assist their parents because they trust our work.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
There’s no reward without risk and I strongly believe that as long as we keep children and parents as our North Star, the risks are very minimal. This work is very personal and relies solely on the relationship we build. By keeping those relationships strong and knowing what our children/parents need and want to see gives me comfort that the families we have will have our back through obstacles we may face. One of my major risks was hosting Freedom July. The Summer of 2023, we had a goal to assess 100 students’ literacy skills and educate their parents on the foundations of literacy. No one wanted to help us make this happen to ensure parents had the information they needed. Additionally, some of my parents were afraid to speak up about poor literacy instruction, out of fear of their children being retaliated against. We quickly tear down those walls and help them understand how many children their voices are supporting. Freedom July was a total success! We surpassed our goals and produced a white paper detailing the journey and outcomes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.parentshield.org
- Instagram: @parentshield_fortworth
- Facebook: @parentshieldfortworth
- Twitter: Parent_Shield
- Other: TikTok: parentshieldfortworth
