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References:

City of Denton. (n.d.). Affordable Housing. https://www.cityofdenton.com/996/Affordable-Housing

City of Denton. (n.d.). Homeless Solutions. https://www.cityofdenton.com/428/Homelessness-Solutions

Denton Independent School District. (2024). Social Work. https://www.dentonisd.org/page/1190

United Way. (2024). Denton County Works. https://www.unitedwaydenton.org/dentoncountyworks

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The city of Denton, in Texas, is comprised of a population of 150,353 individuals in the community. The communities median age is 31.1 years of age with 12.1% of individuals the age of 65 years or older. About half of the community is female, 50.7% (United States Census Bureau, n.d.). Through race and Hispanic origin, the community is comprised of 67.8% of White individuals, 11.5% of Black or African American individuals, 3.5% Asian, and 24.1% of Hispanic or Latino individuals (United States Census Bureau, n.d.).

Of individuals in the city of Denton, 7.8% of individuals are recognized as those in poverty. There are 33,566 single parent households in the community, or 56% (Economic Development Department, n.d.). In the community, 4.6% of the population are unemployed. About 91.5% of households have a high school graduate degree or higher and 40% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. There are two universities in Denton, Texas Woman’s University (TWU) and University of North Texas (UNT), along with a community college, North Central Texas College (NCTC). UNT has a demographic of 5,761 of males and 5,201 females. TWU has a demographic of 292 males and 1,034 females (Economic Development Department, n.d.).

The teachers in the Denton ISD school district have demographics of 8.5% Black or African American, 1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 0.3% American Indian, 14.6% Hispanic or Latino, and 73.9% White. There are also about 50 full-time school counselors in the Denton school district(U.S. News & World Report, 2024).

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Community Involvement: Board of Trustees Meeting

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Community Involvement: Board of Trustees Meeting

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Attending the Board of Trustees meeting on April 9, 2024 at 6:00PM, the main topics discussed in the two hour session were early childhood pre-K, the teacher principal residency, and discussing budget. The main concerns for the meeting were budget, funding, and increased class sizes. The early childhood pre-K enrollment increased between 19% and 20% with a need of between 1.5 and 3.5 classes added to accommodate students and staff. Student ratio is about 22 students per one teacher and parent. The early childhood pre-K is a full day of school as required by the state of Texas, however the funding allotted by the state only covers half of a school day. The early childhood pre-K administrator was wanting funding for transportation for the students that includes harnesses on the bus, it was stated that there are some busses available but they are not currently used for the program, and would need at least one monitor per bus.

The teacher-principal residency was providing insight to the residency program from the UNT and TWU student teachers attempting to receive their hours through the Denton ISD school district while they are in school. Some challenges faced through the budget and funding for programs and needs in the school district was the current deficit of their budget. Denton ISD currently has 20 million fund balance and it is estimated to drop to around 19 or 17 million the following school year. The superintendent reported a budget plan "1925 plan" to accommodate and build funding for the district in a protective measure of the legislature not providing assistance. The superintendent reported the school are provided funding assistance through attendance and not enrollment, which has caused difficulty with receiving funding. Other challenges in the meeting were the difficulty of raising taxes to assist with the school district funding due to residents of Denton County receiving a break through the legislature after many reported concerns of losing housing. The main issue was the funding/budget due to keeping up with inflation in the economy.

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In Denton County, the school district is Denton ISD and includes 43 schools (25 preschools, 26 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, and 8 high schools). Through the school district, there are a total of 31,951 students with demographics consisting of 38.3 White, 33.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Black or African American, 3.7% having two or more races, 3.4% Asian or Asian Pacific Islander, 0.4% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 49% female, and 51% male. Through the student body, 35.6% of students receive free or reduced lunch (U.S. News & World Report, 2024).

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Through Denton Together Coalition (2024), business stakeholders in the city of Denton, through faith-based services, are First United Methodist Church Denton and the Islamic Society of Denton. Stakeholders through higher education are TWU, UNT, and NCT. The school district is Denton Independent School District. For safety in the community, Denton Police/Sheriff/Fire Department, and the TWU/UNT/NCTC Police Department. Stakeholder community organizations are Friends of the Family (FOTF), Giving Hope, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Denton, Texas (Denton Together Coalition, 2024).

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The City of Denton is comprised of several nonprofit organizations. The Shiloh Field Community Garden provides food to those in the community that may be unable to afford it (Shiloh Garden, n.d.). Our Daily Bread is a homeless shelter that partners with the City of Denton to provide services to individuals experiencing homelessness in the community. They provide shelter, meals, and wraparound services (Our Daily Bread, n.d.). Denton County MHMR is a nonprofit organization providing mental health services to individuals with Medicaid, Medicare, uninsured, and individuals with lack of insurance coverage. Denton County MHMR assists in individuals connecting with housing services, transportation services, employment services, substance use services, crisis services and more (Denton MHMR, n.d.). WTF-Winning the Fight provides substance use and mental health services to the community (City of Denton, n.d.). Serve Denton provides support to the community through collaborating with nonprofits to provide more accessible services through a single center (Serve Denton, n.d.).

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Media in Denton County are Denton Record-Chronicle, Denton County Magazine, and KUZU Radio. The Denton Record-Chronicle provides news about the city, sports, education, jobs, business, and more The Denton Record-Chronicle is one of the main sources of information in Denton County, providing information for over 30 years (Denton Record-Chronicle, 2024). The Denton County Magazine provides information about businesses, health, leaders, and more. It provides its media to “a targeted list of Denton County households” (Denton County Magazine, 2024). KUZU radio is a nonprofit radio program that provides “artistic expression, music, debate, discussion, announcements, and other public affairs and services” without concerns of discrimination (KUZU, n.d.).

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An interview was conducted the with superintendent of the Denton ISD school district. The superintendent has a role of managing district finances, assisting in the operation of school, the opening of new schools, and administering new programs within the school. The superintendent provided a short interview with me over Zoom due to health concerns expressed for the interview date and time.

The superintendent informed me of the opening of a new school in Little Elm, however reported difficulties with the opening of the school due to budget concerns. The superintendent provided insight to assistance to starting the Ninth-Grade Jump Start Program that provides students in the ninth-grade assistance when they are experiencing difficulty with the content in school. It provides extra individual assistance to prevent students from repeating a grade. Needs that are needed in the community, as indicated by the superintendent, are increased funding due to difficulty in the budget to hire new teachers and staff for the school. The superintendent reported that there have been program closures in the school and stated concern for budget cuts to the arts programs such as band or theatre.

Due to opening a new school, there have been concerns about the success of the school for the students due to the budget. The Superintendent reported programs, such as working with Pedi Place, a pediatric facility to provide physicals to students, have been important in the past. Insight to working with the community to provide volunteering opportunities and allow for increased residency programs are a large factor to assist in the budgeting concern. The superintendent reported the funding has decreased since 2019 due to inflation and there has been a lack of support through the legislature. The superintendent reported Denton ISD is one of the fastest growing school districts and it has increased class sizes to over 30 students per classroom. The superintendent reported that larger classroom sizes are not beneficial for the students due to lack of individual care or individuals needs met for students that may experience difficulty in school.

I spoke to the superintendent about possible solutions for the concerns and asked about events where the community, students, and teachers can become involved to learn about the concerns in the school. The superintendent stated that events in the community or through the school are an option, however it can cost money to bring events together which may not be in the budget. The superintendent reported that speaking to media and bringing the information through platforms that can spread to the public in a way it can show up on their phone is another solution to bring awareness to the concerns. The superintendent reported reaching out to local businesses can also provide awareness and support for the students and faculty.

The interview with the superintendent provided insight to the difficulties and process in reaching out to the community and bringing awareness to problems within the community and school district. Through speaking to the superintendent, it was insightful to learn that there are small organizations or different businesses that assist the schools with programs for the students. The budget and concerns with schools operating due to the funding and inflation were concerning. It was brought to my attention that bringing awareness through media (such as news stations, articles, and social media) can provide effective awareness to assist district/school concerns.

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City of Denton. (n.d.). Community Services Non-Profit Organizations. https://www.cityofdenton.com/DocumentCenter/View/800/Community-Service-Organizations-PDF

Denton County Magazine. (2024). About Us. https://www.dentoncountymagazine.com/site/about.html

Denton County MHMR Center. (n.d.). About. https://www.dentonmhmr.org/about/

Denton Record-Chronicle. (2024). Denton Record-Chronicle. https://dentonrc.com/

Denton Together Coalition. (2024). Community Partners/Stakeholders. https://www.dentontogethercoalition.com/community-partners-stakeholders

Economic Development Department. (n.d.). Statistical trends and news of Denton. City of Denton. https://www.cityofdenton.com/DocumentCenter/View/8592/Qtr-4-FY-22-23-STaND

KUZU. (n.d.) About KUZU. https://www.kuzu.fm/about-1

Our Daily Bread. (n.d.). Our New Facility. https://www.ourdailybreaddenton.org/our-story

Serve Denton. (n.d.). A One-Stop-Shop for Resources. https://www.servedenton.org/

Shiloh Garden. (n.d.). We are all about feeding hungry people. https://www.shilohfield.com/

United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). QuickFacts. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/dentoncitytexas/PST045223

U.S. News & World Report. (2024). Denton Independent School District. https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/texas/districts/denton-isd-112266#:~:text=Denton%20Independent%20School%20District%20contains,of%20students%20are%20economically%20disadvantaged.

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Gaps, Critical Issues, and Partnerships in the Community

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Gaps, Critical Issues, and Partnerships in the Community