What We Do

Our True North Goal

Despite significant growth in academic achievement, the current structure of Dallas County’s economy supports living wage attainment for only one-in-four residents between the ages of 25 and 34. White residents are currently three times more likely than their Black and Hispanic neighbors to have the access, resources and supports needed to be employed at a living wage.

Our true north goal is that by 2040 at least half of all 25-34 year old residents, irrespective of race, will be provided the opportunity to earn a living wage.

Equitably Doubling Living Wage Attainment by 2040

Desired Outcomes

Research points to key academic milestones that are critical for students to be on track to economic stability.

To increase living wage attainment, we must equitably increase educational attainment, maximizing the cumulative effect from early education to college, career, and/or military readiness.

As a result of coordinated community efforts, over 50,000 more students in Dallas County are meeting key benchmarks since 2012, when Commit was formed.

To be on track to meet our true north goal of increased living wage attainment, we hope to see 68,000 more students meeting these key academic milestones at the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year, with particular attention paid to growth within specific demographic groups, both racial and socioeconomic.

Strategies and Tactics

We recognize that historic injustice and current inequities contribute to disparities in educational and economic attainment in Dallas County and across the state.

To address the systemic drivers of these disparities and co-create equitable outcomes alongside our partners, we:

Our work extends from 0-3 policy efforts to local employers and every educational provider and stakeholder along the way, from cradle to career.

Initiatives

The strategic initiatives pursued by the Commit Partnership can be sorted into two broad categories: those that seek to increase the access that all students have to enrich educational experiences, and those that seek to increase the quality of said educational experiences.

Policy

To achieve our True North Goal, we understand that our strategies and tactics must be paired with equitable resourcing and effective, student-centered policies at the local and state levels.

Through strategic partnership and coalition-building across the state, we support district-specific efforts and statewide legislation to increase access to quality schools and facilities, effectives educators who are rewarded for their excellence, postsecondary access and workforce opportunity, and critical resources for student growth, achievement, and success.

With the right policies and resources in place, our staff and district, college, and university partners work together to ensure that implementation is equitable, data-driven, and accomplished with fidelity.

Examples of student-centered policies, resources, and our collective efforts include:

To learn more about our statewide impact, visit our Policy page.