Fort Worth ISD mother Mary Reynolds is worried about the future of her first grader’s teachers.
Her son attends George C. Clarke Elementary, one of 13 persistently underperforming campuses that FWISD is restructuring for an academic boost.
Reynolds’ concerns stem from the school’s inclusion in a reduction in force that the FWISD board of managers approved Tuesday evening. The reduction impacts 25 schools, according to district officials. The vote was 8-0, with manager Jay Stegall absent.
“I have a place where my son is thriving and doing so well,” Reynolds told the state-appointed managers. “ Your stated goals are to improve educational outcomes, and I honestly struggle to see how a significant reduction in force is going to help that.”
The number of employees affected was not immediately available.
The reductions are targeted at six schools that will close this summer and 19 campuses now part of the new Elevate Network. Six campuses that follow a Texas Education Agency-approved turnaround school model called Accelerated Campus Excellence are part of the network.
Board President Pete Geren stressed the reduction is limited to these schools.
Affected teachers were notified about the reduction in force late Tuesday evening, according to district leaders.
Current teachers at Elevate Network schools were notified whether they qualify to work at the campuses for next year, according to the district.
If teachers didn’t qualify, the district will help them find another job within FWISD, Superintendent Peter Licata said. Two job fairs exclusively for current staff members are slated for the next two weekends.
“We’re talking about every option possible for our staff members,” Licata said.
Manager Tennessee Walker said he has heard from teachers and parents who are concerned about the possibility of the district forcing effective teachers to move to underperforming campuses.
Forced transfers do not help FWISD students, said Daniel Soliz, deputy superintendent and chief of schools. The district set a structure for its underperforming schools and is incentivizing teachers to do that work — of their own accord, he added.
“ I want to be very clear on behalf of Dr. Licata: Force transfers is not a philosophy of this administration or our superintendent,” Soliz said. “That is not an effective way to improve instruction or to create a transformation model.”
Three members of the group called Families Organized and Resisting Takeover, or FORT, urged managers to vote down the reduction in force. Instead, they wanted managers to place a guardrail protecting experienced teachers in any decisions made by the superintendent.
The Rev. Kristin Klade, FORT’s secretary, said veteran teachers hold institutional knowledge that helps improve student outcomes.
“We unravel the invisible infrastructure that holds a school and community together,” said Klade, a FWISD alumni who has two students enrolled in the district.
Stephanie Johnson has worked in Fort Worth ISD for the past 14 years as an intervention specialist, which she described as a social worker. She was concerned the district would remove staff like her from these campuses through the reduction.
Johnson called intervention specialists, who are licensed mental health professionals, as doing quiet work behind the scenes so students can focus on learning. Transportation, community resources for financial stability, resolving crises and more are things that don’t make headlines but are important, she said.
“ We are an essential human support,” Johnson said. “We bridge mental health and education, prevent crises and directly support academic outcomes.”
Licata reassured Johnson and other speakers — including special education teachers in attendance — that he knows the importance of their work. His daughter is a special education teacher, he said.
“I heard that loud and clear,” the superintendent said.
What schools are impacted by the reduction in force?
- Monnig Middle School
- Morningside Middle School
- Wedgwood Middle School
- William James Middle School
- Clifford Davis Elementary
- Diamond Hill Elementary
- East Handley Elementary
- Eastern Hills-West Handley Elementary
- George C. Clarke Elementary
- Harlean Beal Elementary
- Hazel Harvey Peace Elementary
- Maudrie Walton Elementary
- Rufino Mendoza Elementary
- T.A. Sims Elementary
- Van Zandt-Guinn Elementary
- Westcreek Elementary
- Western Hills Elementary
- W.J. Turner Elementary
- W.M. Green Elementary
- Milton Kirkpatrick Elementary*
- Charles E. Nash Elementary*
- Riverside Applied Learning Center*
- Edward J. Briscoe Elementary*
- Western Hills Primary*
- De Zavala Elementary*
* Schools closing this summer
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’s reader advisory council. FWISD manager Courtney Lewis is a member of the Report’s business advisory council. 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.
Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
