Newly appointed Fort Worth ISD Board Vice President Courtney Lewis (left) and Superintendent Peter Licata shake hands with people following their first public meeting at the District Service Center in Fort Worth on March 31, 2026.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
Fort Worth ISD board unanimously approved staff reductions at 25 schools Tuesday, as the district looks to implement a turnaround plan to uplift underperforming schools.
While six of the impacted schools were slated for closure, the rest are part of Elevate, a network of campuses receiving additional support to boost student outcomes. The district wants to draw high-quality staff to these campuses by offering incentives, such as a starting salary of up to $100,000, benefits, stipends and weekly coaching. Ahead of the vote, community members criticized the proposal and called for further community input before rushing to a decision.
Article continues below this ad
“The Elevate network will be the path forward for our schools that have been consistently underperforming,” said Daniel Soliz, deputy superintendent of schools, during the board meeting.
Related: Fort Worth ISD’s new leaders pledge growth, transparency. Parents pledge to hold them accountable
Elevate will help teachers build strong teaching skills and establish clearer instructional expectations, Soliz said. Elevate also increases resources and staffing, allowing teachers to respond to students’ academic challenges faster.
Make Dallas News a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.
Add Preferred Source
Of those 19 Elevate campuses, six are also set to follow an Accelerating Campus Excellence model. Dallas ISD started the ACE in 2015 to support struggling schools, and the model has since been used at campuses across the state. Fort Worth ISD’s former — now powerless — board of trustees unveiled plans to adopt ACE last year.
Article continues below this ad
Related: In bid to boost 7 FWISD schools, district eyes successful DISD program
Rather than the elected trustees, a state-appointed board of managers oversaw Tuesday’s meeting. The managers took the reins in March, after the state took over Fort Worth ISD, triggered by a campus receiving a failing rating for five consecutive years.
Ahead of the vote, the proposal faced pushback from community members during public comment. Kristin Klade — a parent and secretary of Families Organized and Resisting Takeover — asked the board not to approve the staff reductions.
Teachers bring a deep institutional knowledge, she said.
Article continues below this ad
“They know which students struggle in silence,” she said. “Protecting this human capital is essential to student outcomes, the very outcomes that this board is here to improve.”
Marie Mendoza, Fort Worth ISD’s executive director of emergent bilingual programs, acknowledged that the evening would be hard for the staff impacted. But amid uncertainty, she believed the plan was an “opportunity.”
“Sometimes, what feels like an ending is actually redirection,” she said. “We don’t always get to choose change, but we do have the ability to mentally frame it.”
The district prioritizes student achievement and seeks to get them on proficient levels for math and reading, said Peter Licata, superintendent. Turning around those results will take “immediate and courageous action,” he said, such that “all of us will be uncomfortable.”
Article continues below this ad
In Fort Worth ISD, roughly 24,900 students are not meeting grade-level standards. While student proficiency has improved over the years, Fort Worth ISD still lags behind other districts, such as Dallas ISD, Austin ISD and Houston ISD.
Supporting teachers is key, Licata said, and that requires paying them appropriately.
“We are not pointing our fingers at teachers,” Licata said. “We are making sure we support them.”
The process to identify which jobs would be fully eliminated is still underway, said a Fort Worth ISD spokesperson in an email.
Article continues below this ad
On Tuesday evening, impacted staff were notified about options they could take, officials said during the meeting. Teachers at the Elevate campuses can reapply for their jobs, and the district will host hiring fairs to help internal candidates find new jobs.
The schools affected are:
By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy.
Article continues below this ad
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.