Texas TEA Announces State Takeover of Fort Worth ISD Due to Chronic Underperformance

State Takeover of Fort Worth ISD

• 🎯 The Texas Education Agency (TEA) will install a board of managers to take over Fort Worth ISD due to chronic low performance and inadequate student support.
• 💡 This action is a response to an increase in academically unacceptable campuses, with 34% of students meeting grade level, significantly below the state average.
• 🗓️ While the announcement is made today, no immediate changes will occur; the process of recruiting and interviewing candidates for the board of managers will take several months.

Rationale for Intervention

• 📉 The decision is driven by the district's chronic low levels of performance, with 20 multi-year academically unacceptable campuses.
• 📊 Only 34% of students are meeting grade level, a stark contrast to demographically similar districts like Dallas and Houston.
• 🚀 The objective is to implement systemic changes to ensure students have access to high-quality education and then return governance to the elected board.

Transition and Leadership

• ⏳ A conservator will be appointed to facilitate the transition to the new board of managers, which is expected to take several months.
• 🔍 A national search will be conducted for a new superintendent, with the current superintendent, Dr. Karen Molinar, also being thoroughly evaluated.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For parents and staff, the immediate message is that nothing changes today; schools will continue operating as usual, with current leadership remaining in place for the interim.

Future Goals and Accountability

• 📈 The intervention aims to see systemic changes in how the district's central office supports campuses, leading to the elimination of multi-year academically unacceptable campuses.
• 🤝 Community meetings will be held in November and December to gather feedback on goals for children and desired leadership qualities, which will inform final decisions.
• ⚠️ The TEA has a track record of success with similar interventions, but emphasizes a commitment to continuous improvement and making adjustments if the new leadership team does not produce results, stating schools cannot fail children.