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Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Peter Licata, center, listens to a group of J.T. Stevens Elementary parents during a session Aug. 24 at South Hills High School.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jacob Sanchez \/Fort Worth Report<\/p>\n
A group of Fort Worth ISD students<\/a> launched an online petition this week calling on district leaders to give their teachers space to do their jobs.<\/p>\n In the petition, which was launched by more than 50 students in grades four through 12, students say the stress and disruptions associated with the state takeover of the district<\/a> are affecting teachers\u2019 ability to teach and students\u2019 ability to learn. The petition had garnered 1,370 signatures<\/a> by 9 a.m. Wednesday.<\/p>\n Since March, Fort Worth ISD has been under the control of state-appointed Superintendent Peter Licata<\/a> and a state-appointed board of managers. Although five consecutive F ratings at a single campus triggered the takeover, the district has seen stagnant academic progress for more than a decade.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Texas school takeover tracker: See which school districts are under TEA control and which are at risk<\/a><\/p>\n Fort Worth ISD leaders have implemented a number of strategies<\/a> they say are designed to help students make progress quickly, including targeted support at the district\u2019s lowest-performing campuses and scripted lessons that ensure that all students in each grade level get identical instruction.<\/p>\n In the petition, students say the pre-packaged slides their teachers are required to use in class don\u2019t allow space for them to engage with the material. Because teachers are required to follow a strict time clock, students don\u2019t have a chance to ask questions or delve deeper into the concepts they\u2019re learning in class, the students wrote. And teachers don\u2019t have the freedom to tailor their instruction to their students\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n Aside from being overly rigid, many of the slides teachers present in class contain information that\u2019s incorrect, students wrote. In social studies, students see spelling errors. In Spanish, there are translation errors. Students in a French class recently spotted an image that appeared to be AI-generated.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe experience this constantly,\u201d students wrote. \u201cWe are being told to follow these lessons, but these lessons are teaching us inaccurate material.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n