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Pete Geren, CEO of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, speaks on a panel about literacy during The Texas Tribune Festival on Nov. 15, 2025, in Austin. (Scott Nishimura | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\nAUSTIN \u2014 A resistance to airing low reading proficiency rates among some school leaders and trustees is prolonging the literacy crisis, according to education advocates.<\/p>\n
The reading problem in Texas can be confronted only through transparency, engaged parents and a knowledgeable community, speakers said during a Nov. 15 panel at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. Persistent grassroots activism, committed policymakers and aggressive press coverage are essential, they said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDemocracy can fix hard problems, but it can\u2019t fix a problem it doesn\u2019t know,\u201d said Pete Geren, CEO of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation and former congressman and U.S. Army secretary.<\/p>\n
Pete Geren, CEO of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, speaks on a panel about literacy during The Texas Tribune Festival on Nov. 15, 2025, in Austin. (Scott Nishimura | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
The issue is clear in Fort Worth where the Richardson Foundation has funded polls and campaigns to raise awareness, Geren said.<\/p>\n
About 1 in 3 third graders in Fort Worth ISD, the city\u2019s largest school district, aren\u2019t reading proficiently. That makes it statistically likely they won\u2019t be prepared for life after high school.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A 2024 poll by the Fort Worth Education Partnership found nearly all parents in Tarrant County<\/a> believed their kids were reading on level.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a result, the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Parent Pass and The Miles Foundation launched Go Beyond Grades<\/a>, a campaign that wants to better inform parents about their students\u2019 academic standing and equip them with resources to help. The campaign partnered with Tarrant County school districts, including FWISD, as well as cities and community groups.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very hard to persuade (parents) that their child is not doing well in school,\u201d Geren said. \u201cWhy do we believe that? It\u2019s report cards. Kids get all A\u2019s and B\u2019s, and they all get promoted. And so, a big part of our work is just to inform the public about what the reality is.\u201d<\/p>\n Geren touted the work of Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, who founded the Fort Worth parental advocacy nonprofit Parent Shield<\/a> in 2022 to engage parents and advocate for solutions.<\/p>\n Parent Shield has promoted the need for strong intervention and access<\/a> to free literacy intervention by specialists. In its own testing, Parent Shield found 96% of students below grade level in reading achieved at least one grade level of growth through aggressive intervention over just a few months.<\/p>\n Parent Shield has shared the data publicly<\/a> and with parents.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re sharing with them the data so they can understand it, know how to read it, know where to find it,\u201d Dorsey-Hollins said. \u201cWe have to share because that\u2019s the only way the change is going to be made.\u201d<\/p>\n Pockets exist in the state where students in high poverty schools are outperforming the similar school districts and even Texas, said John Hryhorchuk, senior vice president of policy and advocacy for the Texas 2036 nonpartisan advocacy nonprofit.<\/p>\n Hryhorchuk pointed to Laredo ISD as an example of a district with high levels of poverty that is also beating the state in reading proficiency. More than 97% of Laredo students come from low-income families. In 2024, a Laredo elementary school saw 96%<\/a> of students proficient in reading, math and science. This year, 54% of Laredo students are reading at grade level, according to Texas Education Agency data.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a statistical outlier, but (the data shows) it\u2019s not the kids that are the problem,\u201d Hryhorchuk said of the Laredo school. \u201cIt\u2019s how the structures are being provided to them.\u201d<\/p>\n Geren pointed outside of Texas for an example the state should follow. Mississippi is now among the top performers<\/a> on reading despite its status as the poorest state in the nation. A decade ago, it was 49th.<\/p>\n Mississippi lawmakers deployed a series of literacy policy<\/a> changes starting in 2013. They included funding and hiring literacy coaches to the lowest-performing schools; universal screenings to identify reading deficiencies early for students; and requiring schools holding back students who weren\u2019t reading proficiently by the third grade.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mississippi rooted much of its reforms on the science of reading, a body of scientifically based research built over the last five decades across the world that focuses on how the human brain learns reading.<\/p>\n Fort Worth ISD has made clear its top priority is literacy and rebuilt its budget around that focus<\/a>. Instruction is rooted in evidence-based practices, and lessons are based on the science of reading.<\/p>\n More change is coming to FWISD as Texas takes control of the district<\/a> after a now-closed school received five straight F\u2019s under the state\u2019s academic accountability ratings that are largely based on STAAR results.\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath will remove FWISD\u2019s nine locally elected trustees and appoint a board of managers<\/a>. He also will appoint a superintendent.<\/p>\n Geren urged against trying to fight the takeover decision. Trustees are appealing Morath\u2019s decision<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThat decision has been made,\u201d Geren said. \u201cWe have to play the cards that have been dealt. We are urging people to sign up to be candidates for the board of managers, and we\u2019re asking everybody, all across the civic life, nonprofit life and public school world to all join hands and let\u2019s make this work for our kids. Focus on the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n Scott Nishimura is a senior editor at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.Disclosure: The Sid W. Richardson Foundation is a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. News decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/JohnHryhorchuk-TribFest.jpg\")
John Hryhorchuk (with microphone), senior vice president of policy and advocacy for the Texas 2036 nonpartisan advocacy nonprofit, speaks during a panel on literacy at TribFest in Austin. (Scott Nishimura | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
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