Vanessa Flores is ready to step into the classroom even as her alma mater, FWISD, navigates a state intervention and new leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not worried at all,\u201d said the Fort Worth ISD graduate who begins teaching in the fall. \u201cI think that they know what they\u2019re doing. The district knows what\u2019s best for the students, for the staff, for everyone. So I\u2019m just ready to go in, start teaching and get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flores is among a group of incoming teachers who signed letters of intent March 26 to begin their careers in Fort Worth ISD. Many are choosing to return to the schools that shaped them at a time when the district is searching for stability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The district\u2019s Teacher Pipeline Program Signing Day featured teacher residents<\/a> and bilingual teacher assistants from Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Tech University, Tarleton State University and the University of North Texas.<\/p>\n The moment was celebratory. But it also carried extra weight.<\/p>\n Fort Worth ISD has spent months navigating the fallout of Texas\u2019 decision to take control of the district, a shift that has stirred fears of instability and teacher turnover. Educators and union leaders warned that uncertainty could push staff to leave<\/a>, echoing concerns raised in other state-run districts.<\/p>\n District leaders on Thursday offered a different message: Stay.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want them to know that even though we\u2019re going through transition, we do have homes for them,\u201d said Emily Camarena, FWISD\u2019s executive director of talent management. \u201cThat leads to stability because it leads to retention.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather than entering as traditional first-year hires, these candidates have already spent a year working in Fort Worth classrooms through paid residency and bilingual teacher assistant programs, learning alongside mentor teachers and campus leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n That experience matters because it gives them tools, confidence and familiarity with the district before they ever take over a classroom of their own, Camarena said.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, they\u2019re a first-year teacher,\u201d she said. \u201cBut they don\u2019t feel like a first-year teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n The district is leaning hard on that approach at a pivotal time.<\/p>\n Fort Worth educators repeatedly warned that takeover-induced instability could make it harder to keep certified teachers in classrooms. District leaders and education advocates have pointed to partnerships with local universities and \u201cgrow your own\u201d pipeline programs<\/a> as one way to stabilize staffing during major transitions.<\/p>\n Camarena said that is exactly why the pipeline matters now.<\/p>\n Many of the candidates who signed Thursday are Fort Worth ISD graduates themselves. They know the district, its students and its lesson plans, she said. They are also more likely to stay.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have high levels of retention from the people who graduate from these programs,\u201d Camarena said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we want because the turnover is huge sometimes, but we want to just increase that retention.\u201d<\/p>\n The district is also trying to make that decision easier.<\/p>\n In brief remarks to the group, new Superintendent Peter Licata told candidates they would see \u201csignificant opportunities financially to stay in Fort Worth\u201d once they complete certification, adding that the district plans to raise salaries \u201cquickly, emphatically and especially if you\u2019re really good<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n For Flores, that promise was welcome, but not the main reason she signed.<\/p>\n Flores, an Amon Carter-Riverside High School graduate and Texas Wesleyan student completing her student teaching at Natha Howell Elementary, said she wants to teach in the district that raised her.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is my home,\u201d she said after the ceremony. \u201cI just want to give back to the district that I grew up in.\u201d<\/p>\n The takeover isn\u2019t scaring Flores away. Instead, she said the district\u2019s next challenge is clear \u2014 and rooted in students.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now what they need the most is support,\u201d Flores said. \u201cWe need to be there for the students and just let them know that we\u2019re there for them, we have their back.\u201d<\/p>\n Aneira Pozos, a Texas Tech student and FWISD graduate training in the bilingual program, described that support in even more personal terms.<\/p>\n She said she wants to be the kind of teacher students can confide in \u2014 a safe space for children who may be carrying more than adults realize.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on at home,\u201d Pozos said. \u201cI want to help them grow, help them learn, help them be successful in life.\u201d<\/p>\n Pozos, who is also a mother of a Fort Worth ISD student, said she is entering the profession at a moment of change with some nerves but also pride.<\/p>\n \u201cI know there\u2019s going to be a lot going on,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I\u2019m ready to take it on.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org<\/a>or @matthewsgroi1<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n