四虎影院

The order of classrooms didn鈥檛 make sense to Karen Molinar as she walked through Oakhurst Elementary.

The new principal saw a first-grade class next to a third-grade room. One fifth-grade classroom was upstairs, while another was downstairs. No grade levels were together. Instead, teachers鈥� friendships dictated room assignments.

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 working for our kids. This is working for adults,鈥� she said to herself.

Molinar knew what she had to do: Make the unpopular decision for the sake of students. Oakhurst Elementary needed a student-centered culture to thrive, she said, and she was going to make it happen.

Now, 17 years later, Molinar faces a similar challenge. This time, she is Fort Worth ISD鈥檚 interim superintendent 鈥� and potentially its next permanent leader 鈥� and has to address turning around a school district that has . She knows it won鈥檛 be easy, but she sees a path forward by centering students again, rebuilding trust in the greater community, and communicating with parents and residents in a transparent and accessible way.

Molinar is clear about the state of her school district. Bright spots exist, but overall the district is not where she wants it, she said.

The community, Molinar said, has been clear: What Fort Worth ISD has been doing isn鈥檛 working. The data supports that, too, she added.

The community wants change.

鈥淟et鈥檚 do it. Let鈥檚 deliver what鈥檚 best for kids,鈥� Molinar said. 鈥淲e can really change the trajectory of this district and, more importantly, how people feel about us.鈥�

The school board as interim superintendent Oct. 8 after in September amid questions about the . For the past year, the relationship between Ramsey and the school board grew as they and the overall direction of Fort Worth ISD.

In late August, Mayor Mattie Parker took the rare step of attending a school board meeting to she and more than 40 community leaders had with the state of the school district and its .

A month later, .

Molinar, a deputy superintendent whose three-decade career in education has been spent almost entirely in Fort Worth, was in 鈥� and .

Trustees saw her as the person who can put Fort Worth ISD in the right direction, school board President Roxanne Martinez said shortly after trustees approved Molinar鈥檚 appointment.

鈥淪he has always been someone who leads with heart, putting students and staff first and, in this time of transition, we are confident in her ability to guide our district forward and continue building on the incredible work already in motion,鈥� Martinez said.

Molinar has heard the questions about whether someone who has spent so much time in a system that needs turnaround can deliver such significant improvements.

She worked as the No. 2 to the district鈥檚 past two superintendents, Ramsey and Kent Scribner. As deputy superintendent, Molinar saw her role as supporting the top leader and their decisions. She was more of a behind-the-scenes contributor. She was to work closely with the superintendent, but any final call rested with that person.

Now holding the reins of the district, her leadership will be like neither Ramsey nor Scribner.

鈥淢y style is going to be different,鈥� Molinar said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a very relationship-based person, but I can be very firm, I can be very strategic and very focused. You don鈥檛 always get to see that side of me in the roles I鈥檝e done.鈥�

Under Scribner, Molinar was chief of staff. She recalled a staff meeting with the then-superintendent, and no one pushed back 鈥� except for her. Scribner appreciated her standing up and voicing her thoughts, Molinar recalled.

Xavier Sanchez and Molinar worked alongside as executive directors before she became his boss. Although they were initially equals, Sanchez remembers Molinar standing out because of her high standards and her focus on students and parents.

鈥淪he really just set the bar for all of us, without the title,鈥� Sanchez said.

Once she had the boss title, Molinar was good at setting the stage for decisions and explaining her rationale, he said. Her process meant there was almost always instant buy-in from principals.

鈥淭hat is really her strength. As a leader, she鈥檚 built up the trust from within the school leaders to follow her,鈥� said Sanchez, now a leader of , the state鈥檚 first adult charter high school.

Molinar sees her experience as an advantage. Fort Worth ISD has lost a significant chunk of its institutional knowledge during several rounds of in the past two years.

Fresh faces are in new positions. They鈥檙e learning to understand the district as an institution. They鈥檙e learning the city鈥檚 culture. They鈥檙e learning about Fort Worth鈥檚 communities and their differences.

鈥淪he just has the personality and the relationships to really foster buy-in from not only district leaders, but the school leaders,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淪he knows the communities in our city so well.鈥�

Molinar recognizes that each community is different. For the school district, those differences mean coming up with plans that best fit each school.

鈥淎 Ridglea Hills does not need the same thing as a Clifford Davis,鈥� Molinar said of two elementary schools on opposite sides of Fort Worth ISD that serve vastly different communities.

When Molinar hears the phrase 鈥渢urnaround plan,鈥� she thinks of it as a one and done.

She agrees that Fort Worth ISD needs turnaround. However, her plan emphasizes transparency of student achievement data and the variances in students鈥� needs across the district鈥檚 210 square miles.

And it won鈥檛 be a one off.

鈥淓ach priority is going to be unveiled and it鈥檚 going to be constant because as we move and change, we鈥檙e going to add another layer,鈥� Molinar said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not one plan where we鈥檙e going to check off boxes. Because not every box works for every campus either.鈥�

Fort Worth ISD needs to be transparent about student achievement and set clear expectations, she said.

鈥淲hen we are transparent about our data, everyone knows where we鈥檙e at, everyone knows where we need to go,鈥� Molinar said.

About did not meet grade level in reading, according to results from the 2024 state standardized test. In math, 3 in 4 did not meet grade level.

The most recent superintendent used a test tracking academic growth to tell the public about Fort Worth ISD鈥檚 progress. However, some experts and education advocates criticized the decision because and said the test is best used by teachers for changing classroom instruction.

Parent Shield, a group that helps parents navigate the educational system, listed and reporting student achievement in an accessible and easy-to-understand format as one of the top priorities it has for a new superintendent.

An to the school board shows Molinar鈥檚 approach to reporting student achievement data 鈥� including . The presentation focuses on the number of students meeting grade level on the state standardized test and an academic growth-tracking exam 鈥� and emphasizes the two are correlated.

Fort Worth ISD has missed opportunities because it has not worked enough with community partners, the interim superintendent said. The school district can provide support and leverage its resources, such as professional development. Partners can offer insight on students during off-school hours. Together, they ultimately become better so students can succeed.

鈥淗ow can we come together? That鈥檚 going to be a really big priority for me,鈥� Molinar said.

Shifting mindsets at Oakhurst Elementary wasn鈥檛 easy.

Molinar knew she had to model the student-centered behavior she wanted for her school and staff, she said.

In every conversation with educators, Molinar asked the same question: 鈥淎re we being student-centered or adult-centered?鈥� She held teachers accountable and expected the same in return.

Every step toward centering students helped Oakhurst Elementary, Molinar said.

鈥淔or me, it was saying, 鈥榃e鈥檙e about students and parents.鈥� Everybody fell in line,鈥� Molinar said. 鈥淭he teachers learned that I wasn鈥檛 just saying it. They started to be that way, too. Not that they weren鈥檛, but they really started to actively engage a little differently.鈥�

Parents were brought more into the fold. Teachers received more support. Students succeeded.

Oakhurst Elementary flourished, she said.

The unpopular decision to arrange classroom assignments by grade level ignited Oakhurst Elementary鈥檚 late 2000s renaissance.

Now, Molinar is hoping to do the same for the entirety of Fort Worth ISD.

Jacob Sanchez is a senior education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or . At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy .

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.