Bachman Lake Together serves as a catalyst for change for the Northwest Dallas community of Bachman Lake, leveraging education as an asset for the community’s future economic stability. We focus on kindergarten readiness because today only 37% of the children in Bachman Lake arrive at kindergarten ready to learn. Since 2009, Bachman Lake Together partner agencies have served thousands of parents and children aged 0 to 5 with dual-generational services geared towards kindergarten readiness.
Guided by our core values of inclusion and equity, Bachman Lake Together has been built from the ground up by listening to and seeking input from constituents within our community. We also employ another one of our core values, constituent voice, by involving parents at every leadership level, including our Board of Directors, as co-chairs of the Strategic Steering Committee, and on each of its working groups.
As a result of this work, Southern Methodist University Center for Research and Evaluation (CORE) found that children who participated in Bachman Lake Together tend to perform better on cognitive development assessments as compared to their peers.
Since Bachman Lake Together is focused on kindergarten-readiness, our primary constituents are children under the age of 6. Most Bachman Lake public school children quality for free or reduced lunch (over 90%), consider themselves Hispanic or Latino (95%), and are English learners (80%).
We recognize that children do not drive themselves to kindergarten, so we bring together parents, community partners and supporters to achieve our shared goal of kindergarten readiness in Bachman Lake. We focus on kindergarten-readiness because of its impact on education, income and health outcomes, through the following strategies:
1) Developing parent leaders
2) Improving systems that drive kindergarten readiness
3) Increasing well-being among families with young children.
Giving to Bachman Lake Together means supporting a community of thriving children and families
Bachman Lake Together’s mission is to unite the Bachman Lake Community to fully prepare children for kindergarten – academically, socially and emotionally – so they can thrive in school and in life. Our vision is that every child has access to intentionally designed transformational opportunities to strengthen the Bachman Lake community, through engaging programming for children and families. This vision has cascading impacts, according to the research of Nobel Laureate James Heckman, the White House Council of Economic Advisors, and others. These researchers have found that gains in early childhood development provide a strong base for lifelong learning, including cognitive and social development, and provides the initial preparation children need to build successful careers and lead productive, fulfilling lives.
When children are prepared to enter kindergarten ready to learn, they are four times more likely to graduate from high school. High school graduates have a higher rate of continuing on to university, ultimately leading to increased earnings in adulthood, improved health, maintain good health and overall well-being long-term, and contribute to their community and the education of the next generation. Successful early childhood education programs have been shown to generate a net return on investment – as much as a 6:1 ratio over a lifetime.
Since 2009, Bachman Lake Together, has worked alongside its parent leaders, community members and partner agencies to lay the foundation for diversity, equity and inclusion. These principals are key to our work in improving kindergartner readiness in the Bachman Lake community. We believe that lifting up and including the varied perspectives of our constituents is critical to ensuring all children have the opportunity to succeed. We are currently collecting community input to devise our equity statement, which will build on Bachman Lake Together's core values:
1. Strength in Collective Action: We know that we are stronger together. Actions done in the context of a collective strategy are more effective than individual acts alone. We drive forward collective action by being intentional about convening, communicating, and facilitating. We nurture an environment in which the collective can learn, decide, and act together.
2. Inclusion & Equity: We intentionally improve processes and procedures in our institutions and systems to increase justice and fairness for all, with particular attention paid to those who have faced barriers to participation in the past. We strive to deeply understand the root causes of inequity in our community so that we can face those challenges head on. We promote diversity of perspective and provide special accommodations when needed to allow all members to fully participate in the decision-making process.
3. Constituent Strengths and Voice: We know that our parent leaders and participants from the community are our greatest assets. We leverage the unique gifts and perspectives of each constituent. We support our members in telling their stories, their way. We take a participatory approach to developing strategies and evaluating our progress where those impacted by the services are the key drivers of continuous learning and improvement.
4. Respect & Dignity: We recognize the inherent humanity and value in all. We acknowledge their individual rights, opinions, wishes, and lived experiences. We value and admire each person's unique skills, attributes, and contributions. We model respect and dignity and invite others to do the same.
5. Open and Honest Communication: We hold each other accountable. We share what we are learning - both in terms of what is working and what is not. We receive feedback well and we integrate it to become better.
Organization name
Bachman Lake Together
Causes
Social Services, Education - Early Childhood
Operating Budget
$1,000,000 - $2,999,999
Counties Served
Dallas
BIPOC Serving
Hispanic or Latinx
BIPOC Leadership
Both the Executive Director/CEO and Board Chair
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
9507 Overlake Dr