Superintendent Karen Molinar sees momentum building in Fort Worth schools as preliminary academic accountability ratings show progress.
Will it be enough to bat off a potential state takeover of the nearly 70,000-student district?
Fort Worth ISD released Aug. 13 an early look at its A-F school grades that showed the district maintaining a C and academic progress across schools. The Texas Education Agency will release full results for the state’s public schools Friday.
The number of F campuses in Fort Worth dropped from 31 to 11, and 63 schools improved at least one letter grade or maintained an A, according to FWISD’s release.
Molinar previewed the success during the first day of school on Aug. 12. Other highlights from the early data include:
- The district gained seven A-rated schools to now have 17.
- Nine schools moved from an F to a C.
- Mary Louise Phillips, Cesar Chavez, Versia Williams and D. McRae elementaries improved from an F to a B.
“These early gains show what’s possible when leadership, classrooms and communities are aligned,” Molinar said in a statement. “We are just getting started, and there is more work to be done.”
The superintendent touted the success by pointing to student-centered efforts her administration has taken to improve academics, including a budget prioritizing literacy and a strategic plan calling for no failing schools, a 20-percentage-point increase in third-grade reading and math proficiency and reduced chronic absenteeism by 2029.
“We’re not just talking about change. We’re making it happen,” Molinar said.
School leaders say they’re ready to show off Fort Worth’s success when Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath visits in September.
Persistent failing accountability grades for a now-closed FWISD campus triggered a state law that requires Morath to consider intervention in the district. Morath is expected to make a decision on whether to replace Fort Worth ISD’s elected board this fall.
The commissioner told the Texas Senate education committee in early August that he wants the least disruptive decision possible.
Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
