{"id":271749,"date":"2026-04-29T19:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/271749\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T19:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:26:14","slug":"what-to-know-about-fort-worth-isds-school-for-immigrants-set-to-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/271749\/","title":{"rendered":"What to know about Fort Worth ISD\u2019s school for immigrants set to close"},"content":{"rendered":"

Families and supporters of the school told the newly appointed board of managers that the school provides important, life-changing services that go beyond academics. But Peter\u00a0Licata, the district\u2019s state-appointed superintendent, said those students would be better served by being immersed among other students.<\/p>\n

The school works with students in grades six through nine\u00a0 who are recent arrivals to the United States, helping them learn English and adjust to life in Fort Worth while they learn the skills and concepts included in their grade-level curriculum. Teachers at the school have had specialized training to work with students who speak a wide range of languages and come from a variety of cultural backgrounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The school has enjoyed strong community support over the years, and supporters say it provides important services that go beyond academics. Many students\u2019 families came into the country with nothing, so school staff members and volunteers have often organized clothing and furniture donations and other support to help them get established.<\/p>\n

On April 29, 243 students were enrolled at the school, according to Fort Worth ISD. The academy\u2019s enrollment numbers have fluctuated dramatically over the years, rising and falling based on U.S. immigration and refugee policy<\/a> and global conflicts. Many students didn\u2019t attend school for years before they came to the United States because of circumstances in their home countries.<\/p>\n

The closure is part of a larger round of layoffs and program cuts that Licata says are necessary to help the district adjust to smaller enrollment numbers. He also said the academy is based on an outdated model that \u201csegregates students based on their language.\u201d<\/p>\n

District leaders haven\u2019t shared plans for where returning students will go instead. During the meeting,\u00a0Licata and board members said they want those students to be integrated into mainstream campuses where they\u2019ll have access to the same programs and amenities as other students.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0DMN 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Families and supporters of the school told the newly appointed board of managers that the school provides important,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271750,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[732,116,118,117,101051,90041,92239,89204,88643,101050,89217,92242],"class_list":["post-271749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-article","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-news-immigration","tag-tp-ed-lab-school","tag-tp-ed-lab-teach-learn","tag-tp-education-lab","tag-tp-fort-worth","tag-tp-hispanic-dfw","tag-tp-tarrant-county","tag-tp-texas-education-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}