The state takeover of Fort Worth ISD has been on the lips of many candidates this election season. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa has pledged to end state takeovers if she is elected, while Gov. Greg Abbott has defended the state’s intervention and accountability system that led to the takeover.
The start of the district’s first full school year under state control has been met with mixed reactions.
Almost 800 teachers left the district before the new school year, and parents and educators have raised concerns at community meetings about rigid scripted lessons and trampling on teachers’ abilities to run their classrooms.
The district’s Board of Managers and new superintendent, Peter Licata, are in the process of revising goals for student achievement and a roadmap for the superintendent.
The board’s willingness to incorporate feedback from parents and teachers is a good-faith effort to bring the community into the fold of a process in which many have felt overlooked. But listening to these concerns shouldn’t mean lowering expectations for student achievement. Fort Worth must do all it can to improve academic outcomes.
For years, the district was falling behind. In 2022-23, more than half of the district’s schools earned D or F ratings, and only one-third of students were meeting grade level expectations. While it was one campus’ five consecutive years of low ratings that triggered the state intervention, the entire district was in serious need of reform.
The district has set what Licata calls “aggressive and lofty” goals for student achievement. The percentage of third graders who meet grade level or above on state assessments is expected to increase by 5 percentage points each year for the next four years.
Fort Worth can include parents and teachers in this process, but needs to hold firm on its goals. Setting the bar high is the right move. If students don’t meet standards, district officials can explain why and look to make changes. But not setting the bar high enough is what got the district into trouble in the first place.
This summer, the district held listening sessions and sent out a community survey to gather feedback about the takeover. Respondents said their top concerns were scripted lessons and micromanagement of teachers.
Teachers said they don’t have the autonomy to flex lesson plans to meet the needs of their students and classes, and it’s understandable why they might feel like this. At the same time, we need to make sure teachers are teaching with the best standards. Some teachers are resistant to the sorts of reforms that best serve students.
This is why it’s important that changes are explained to teachers. Fort Worth recognizes this and is making an effort to listen. For example, the newest proposed rules state that the superintendent won’t make significant changes to the curriculum without getting feedback from teachers.
For the district to turn itself around, student performance needs to improve, but teachers also need to feel valued and that they aren’t being trampled on. There’s a way for both of these things to exist in Fort Worth ISD.