Making Fort Worth a Better Place
Star-Telegram’s Crossroads Lab marks its one-year anniversary.

The Star-Telegram’s Crossroads Lab is more than a vision - it is a success story. The Lab celebrated its first anniversary of operation earlier this year. With our funders' help, we expanded coverage around community health, social services, education, racial equity, business/economic development and more.

The goal was to raise community awareness and engagement around those issues, explore challenges and shape the discussion around solutions.

(Major funders include the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, the Rainwater Charitable Foundation, The Morris Foundation, and the R4 Foundation.)

Prompting change
The Lab’s work has prompted action and positive change.

After a story on delays in the Fort Worth school district’s plan to bring public wifi to underserved parts of the district, the district quickly held a news conference announcing an updated timeline for the project.

A story about a student with autism who died after being restrained at school pushed the school district to change its policies.

Education and the welfare of children
The Crossroads Lab has helped set the public agenda around issues related to education, early childhood care and the welfare of children.

The Lab included stories on:

Implementing a new pre-K curriculum in the Fort Worth Independent School District.
A historic summer school intervention program that worked to address COVID learning loss.
The growth of alternative teacher certification programs.

Public health issues
Along with the effects of COVID-19 on education, the Lab has explored how the pandemic has disrupted public health and healthcare systems, from cancer screenings and cancer treatment; staffing shortages for some of the most critical jobs in our health infrastructure; and declines in routine childhood vaccinations for preventable diseases like measles and polio.

Racial equity, diversity
The lab’s work has also given a voice to those whose voices often are not heard and explored issues around racial equity. One story helped people understand installed in their neighborhoods to help reduce crime.

Success around a mission
The Crossroads Lab name and mission evolved from the idea that Fort Worth does not simply face a singular fork in the road as it continues its rapid growth but a series of crossroads. Those crossroads represent challenges and opportunities that require community awareness and engagement to tackle successfully and allow all segments of our diverse community to thrive.

As the Crossroads Lab celebration heads into its second year, it’s clear that its work is, indeed, making Fort Worth a better place.

Your tax-deductible donation can help sustain the impact we’ve made. Join your community and help support more local journalism.

Thank you. - The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Team

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Fort Worth Star-Telegram Local Impact Journalism Fund 2024

By McClatchy

Fort Worth Star-Telegram Local Impact Journalism Fund 2024

Team Members