TREC Hosts Racial Equity Roundtable on Going Back to School under COVID-19

On Wednesday, September 29, CHILDREN AT RISK and the Texas Racial Equity Collaborative launched the first in a series of monthly roundtables centered on racial equity first These monthly Racial Equity Rapid Roundtables will gather community leaders, child advocates, and issue experts to unpack the inequities experienced by Texas children and their families.

Each month, topics will cover current events and emerging trends impacting historically marginalized communities, such as how African American and Hispanic communities suffered higher rates of COVID-19 infections and COVID-19 related death-causing community-wide trauma, or delve into why rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide for African American youth are on the rise.

The first Racial Equity Rapid Roundtable centered on Back to School, masking, vaccination, and pandemic learning. School and medical experts gathered to discuss COVID-19 and the racial disparities that families are facing as their children return to the classroom in person.

CHILDREN AT RISK President & CEO, Dr. Bob Sanborn, and Director of The Texas Racial Equity Collaborative, Sharon Watkins Jones, were joined by Elijah Barefield, Dean of Students at Carver Middle School in Waco ISD, Dr. Jasmine Jenkins, Executive Director of Houstonians for Great Public Schools, and Evelyn Malone Hicks, an RN/MHA Nurse, Healthcare Consultant and parent to Lamar Consolidated ISD elementary school students.

“Masking has become an equity issue for children of color,” said Dr. Bob Sanborn. “Not only are their families disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, but preventable exposure has ripple effects from increased learning lost to impacts on the greater Texas economy.”

“The lack of masking policies may also expose younger, unvaccinated children to a disease they could take home to other vulnerable family members,” said TREC Director, Sharon Watkins Jones. “This could cause parents and caregivers to miss work and lose wages, ultimately hurting their ability to adequately provide for their families.”

Watch the roundtable recording below, or on Facebook at https://fb.watch/8lsUmdhWYK/

Roundtable Participants:

• Bob Sanborn, Ed.D., – President & CEO, CHILDREN AT RISK
• Elijah Barefield, Dean of Students, Carver Middle School-Waco ISD
• Dr. Jasmine Jenkins, Executive Director, Houstonians for Great Public Schools
• Evelyn Malone Hicks, RN, MHA Nurse, Healthcare Consultant, Parent of Elementary School Children in Lamar Consolidated ISD
• Sharon Watkins Jones, Director of the Texas Racial Equity Collaborative, CHILDREN AT RISK

Check out the media coverage on this roundtable below: 

• KWTX – Education leader joins conversation about inequities experienced by minority students during pandemic. (9/29/20)