Khristina Goady still remembers her first day as Jean McClung Middle School principal in 2023.
Goady, who arrived as a turnaround principal after leading Atwood McDonald Elementary, saw a group of students pop up as she strolled around her new school.
“Ugh, you’re here again,” the kids joked.
“Yes, I am,” she wryly told her middle schoolers. “Get to class.”
Three years later, Goady still reflects on that memory fondly, and she’s glad she hasn’t had to become familiar with a new campus since. She’s one of 67 principals returning to the same campus this fall — and one who knows what’s ahead for the new principals starting at 53 FWISD campuses.
A Fort Worth Report analysis found the change marks the district’s highest principal turnover in more than a decade and comes as FWISD begins its first school year under a state takeover. The Report analyzed 11 years of school directories obtained through an open records request.
“Yes, people come in and come out,” Goady said. “But our community remains, and every kid deserves to have an outstanding education, and that does not change because we have a change in leadership.”
The previous peak came in 2017-18, when 39 campuses changed principals.
This year’s loss was highest at the high school level, where 13 of 20 campuses — nearly 2 in 3 — will open Aug. 10 with new principals.
More than half of middle schools, 11 of 21, will have new principals.
Many principals retired. Some found jobs elsewhere in FWISD or other districts. Others were required to reapply and let go.
Jo Beth Jimerson, a Texas Christian University education professor, said FWISD was widely seen as a system that needed disruption. But now the district faces another crossroads.
“Is this going to be a productive earthquake? Or are we going to be worse off because there are five more coming down the road? Are there more aftershocks yet to come?” Jimerson said.
‘You might want to tag out’
Superintendent Peter Licata speaks at a meeting about the future of Farrington Field at the Fort Worth ISD District Service Center on May 20, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Superintendent Peter Licata said that while he understands parents may be surprised by the number of principal changes, the shakeup is necessary because students deserve campus leaders capable of delivering significant academic improvements.
“Parents should be very excited,” Licata said. “They’re getting a high-quality leader who was not only selected by a community, but someone who had to perform live in front of educational leaders.”
FWISD required principal candidates to coach teachers during live classes. Licata said the task was difficult but showed administrators how potential principals worked with teachers and students.
The superintendent said he set his expectations the day Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced his appointment.
“If you’re not the best teacher on your campus or the educational leader, you might want to tag out because that’s what this model is,” Licata recalled telling principals. “You better know what good instruction looks like.”
‘Magnified churn’
The turnover reflects multiple forces colliding in a school district under state control, Jimerson said. Some principals may be unable to meet new expectations. Others may be unwilling to work under new constraints. Some retire or move on.
“You’re probably seeing three very different streams that are colliding to create this magnified churn,” said Jimerson, a former principal.
Years of academic struggles prompted the takeover. The state intervened after a sixth-grade center failed for five straight years. Morath said the district’s broader performance drove his decision: About 1 in 3 students were proficient in reading and fewer than 1 in 4 in math.
FWISD is on its fourth superintendent in as many years. Each ran the district with their own approaches, and those shifts rippled into schools, Jimerson said. Now, the shift is even more profound.
“You have a campus having to readjust to a principal within a district having to readjust to an entire new leadership structure,” she said. “That’s probably like standing on a rowboat and shaking it and trying to make a sandwich. It’s going to be really challenging until things settle down.”
Texas’ largest school district, Houston ISD, saw similar churn after its state takeover. The first year of state intervention saw 61 leadership changes across 59 campuses, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Houston ISD posted significant academic gains last year. However, Morath extended the takeover for another three years since the district hasn’t yet met the requirements for returning to local control.
Licata views FWISD’s turnover as part of a reset. He compared the moment to the Dallas Cowboys’ 1989 overhaul after Jimmy Johnson became head coach — an organization that needed an overhaul before it could win consecutive Super Bowls.
“A lot of people left,” Licata said. “He brought in a lot of really good people, and we know the rest of the story.”
Long-term principals leave
Students get on the bus after class at E.M. Daggett Middle School on Jan. 14 in Fort Worth. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)
Among those who left were some of FWISD’s longest-serving principals. Ten had led their campuses for at least seven years. Four of them had served at their schools for at least 11 years.
Jimerson said losing experienced campus leaders can have consequences beyond a single school year. School leadership is second only to classroom instruction for having the greatest impact on student outcomes, according to a 2021 review by the Wallace Foundation, a nonprofit that helps support educational leadership.
Principals affect student outcomes through the teachers they hire and the culture they build.
“Over time, you get more and more good people in positions,” she said. “If you create a positive culture at your campus where people want to stay, and they like each other professionally, and they believe they are doing something good together, then you continue to reduce turnover while increasing the number of high-quality teachers.”
The culture Jimerson described takes years to build — but can unravel quickly, she said.
At Richard J. Wilson Elementary, first-time Principal Dexter Dotson is building a new culture from scratch. He wants to make his campus the kind of school he would have appreciated as a child and educator.
School was a refuge during his unstable home life. Teachers stepped in when they sensed something was wrong, and his principal looked out for him.
“I want to be that person,” Dotson said. “Not just for kids, but for staff as well. Because if your teachers and your staff feel good, that’s only going to translate into the classroom.”
The challenge multiplies when new principles and new teachers arrive at the same time — a dynamic playing out across FWISD, Jimerson said.
Teachers are learning about their students. Principals are creating stability while also responding to new demands from above.
“You have these waves that go back and forth from the classroom through campus through the district and back down,” Jimerson said. “All of those things take time to settle.”
Short-term test performance gains are possible, she said, but meaningful, lasting improvement will take longer.
Improvements come in time
Goady is proof that retention matters.
Now in her third year leading McClung, Goady inherited an F-rated campus.
In her first year, Goady said she focused on the fundamentals: behavior expectations, what learning looks like in classrooms and the basic structures a school needs to function.
McClung’s rating rose from an F to a D.
In year two, she pushed more rigorous instruction. She and teachers planned and rehearsed lessons together before taking them to students.
The school’s rating jumped to a B, according to early 2026 rating estimates.
In year three, Goady is centering on connection.
“Whether it’s through academics, whether it’s through sports — I just want every student to feel seen,” she said.
Goady was a principal of an A campus before. She has her team. She has her roadmap.
She plans to lead an A campus again.
Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez.
Disclosure: FWISD manager Pete Geren leads the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. FWISD manager Laurie George is a member of the Report’s reader advisory council. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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