\u201cYes, people come in and come out,\u201d Goady said. \u201cBut our community remains, and every kid deserves to have an outstanding education, and that does not change because we have a change in leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785976090_591_full.png\")
<\/p>\n
The previous peak came in 2017-18, when 39 campuses changed principals.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s loss was highest at the high school level, where 13 of 20 campuses \u2014 nearly 2 in 3 \u2014 will open Aug. 10 with new principals.<\/p>\n
More than half of middle schools, 11 of 21, will have new principals.<\/p>\n
Many principals retired. Some found jobs elsewhere in FWISD or other districts. Others were required to reapply and let go.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs 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?\u201d Jimerson said.<\/p>\n
\u2018You might want to tag out\u2019
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0520-FarringtonFieldPublicInput-MC-16-1024x683.jpg\")
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)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cParents should be very excited,\u201d Licata said. \u201cThey\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The superintendent said he set his expectations the day Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced his appointment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re not the best teacher on your campus or the educational leader, you might want to tag out because that\u2019s what this model is,\u201d Licata recalled telling principals. \u201cYou better know what good instruction looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Magnified churn\u2019<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re probably seeing three very different streams that are colliding to create this magnified churn,\u201d said Jimerson, a former principal.<\/p>\n
Years of academic struggles prompted the takeover. The state intervened after a sixth-grade center failed for five straight years. Morath said the district\u2019s broader performance drove his decision<\/a>: About 1 in 3 students were proficient in reading and fewer than 1 in 4 in math.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have a campus having to readjust to a principal within a district having to readjust to an entire new leadership structure,\u201d 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.”<\/p>\n Texas\u2019 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<\/a>, the Houston Chronicle reported.<\/p>\n Houston ISD posted significant academic gains last year. However, Morath extended the takeover for another three years since the district hasn\u2019t yet met the requirements for returning to local control.<\/p>\n Licata views FWISD\u2019s turnover as part of a reset. He compared the moment to the Dallas Cowboys\u2019 1989 overhaul after Jimmy Johnson became head coach \u2014 an organization that needed an overhaul before it could win consecutive Super Bowls.<\/p>\n “A lot of people left,” Licata said. “He brought in a lot of really good people, and we know the rest of the story.”<\/p>\n Long-term principals leave Among those who left were some of FWISD\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, according to a 2021 review by the Wallace Foundation<\/a>, a nonprofit that helps support educational leadership.<\/p>\n Principals affect student outcomes through the teachers they hire and the culture they build.<\/p>\n \u201cOver time, you get more and more good people in positions,\u201d she said. \u201cIf 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.”<\/p>\n The culture Jimerson described takes years to build \u2014 but can unravel quickly, she said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be that person,\u201d Dotson said. \u201cNot just for kids, but for staff as well. Because if your teachers and your staff feel good, that\u2019s only going to translate into the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n The challenge multiplies when new principles and new teachers arrive at the same time \u2014 a dynamic playing out across FWISD, Jimerson said.<\/p>\n Teachers are learning about their students. Principals are creating stability while also responding to new demands from above.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have these waves that go back and forth from the classroom through campus through the district and back down,\u201d Jimerson said. \u201cAll of those things take time to settle.\u201d<\/p>\n Short-term test performance gains are possible, she said, but meaningful, lasting improvement will take longer.<\/p>\n Improvements come in time<\/p>\n Goady is proof that retention matters.<\/p>\n Now in her third year leading McClung, Goady inherited an F-rated campus.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n McClung\u2019s rating rose from an F to a D.\u00a0<\/p>\n In year two, she pushed more rigorous instruction. She and teachers planned and rehearsed lessons together before taking them to students.<\/p>\n The school\u2019s rating jumped to a B, according to early 2026 rating estimates.<\/p>\n In year three, Goady is centering on connection.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s through academics, whether it\u2019s through sports \u2014 I just want every student to feel seen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Goady was a principal of an A campus before. She has her team. She has her roadmap.\u00a0<\/p>\n She plans to lead an A campus again.<\/p>\n Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @_jacob_sanchez<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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\u2019s reader advisory council. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. 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\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260113_FWISDWorkshop-16-1024x683.jpg\")
Students get on the bus after class at E.M. Daggett Middle School on Jan. 14 in Fort Worth. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n