Angela Andrews wants to know whether she will teach at Dolores Huerta Elementary next year.
Bradley O鈥橞annon wants Fort Worth ISD to do better 鈥� but with locally elected leadership.
Both are educators who during a forum Thursday evening. More than 150 people attended the meeting at the District Service Center to hear from Texas Education Agency officials about the next steps for the .
Andrews is in her first year as a special education teacher at Huerta Elementary, but has spent more than two decades teaching in FWISD. She knows the district well and knows improvements are needed, but she just can鈥檛 stop thinking about the students and her fellow teachers, she said.
鈥淚 am concerned about so many things, like I don鈥檛 know where to start,鈥� Andrews told the Fort Worth Report.
She said she鈥檚 worried about strong, excellent teachers with proven records of student success being forced to move to underperforming schools without proper support and any input on the decision.
鈥淲hat are you going to do with teachers like us? Are we going to be flung to different schools?鈥� Andrews asked TEA Deputy Commissioner Steve Lecholop.
Ultimately, that decision is up to the superintendent, Lecholop said. TEA will not make any operational decisions for FWISD. Only the superintendent and the board of managers whom Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath appoints in the spring have that power.
after one school received five consecutive failing grades on the state鈥檚 academic accountability system, Lecholop said. Beyond that, he explained, the 67,500-student district faces based on STAAR performance:
- 2 in 3 students cannot read on grade level.
- 7 in 10 students cannot do math proficiently.
- Nearly 1 in 3 campuses are either D or F rated.
Lecholop compared Fort Worth to Dallas and Houston. Both districts have seen improvements following the COVID-19 pandemic 鈥� Fort Worth ISD has not, he said.
鈥淒espite what many are saying, over time, the district has not actually improved outcomes for kids,鈥� Lecholop said.
No one disagrees with FWISD鈥檚 issues, said O鈥橞annon, a special education teacher at M.H. Moore Elementary. However, many disagree with what students and teachers will have to go through next school year as the state formalizes its control of the district.
O鈥橞annon understands the law must be upheld and that Texas must intervene, he said. However, the removal of the nine elected trustees who are familiar with schools and students means the community is losing a direct connection in the decision-making process, he said.
鈥溾�奧e should do better. Our kids deserve the best, they deserve more and we want your help to ensure that the community is not misrepresented,鈥� O鈥橞annon said.
Other speakers voiced concerns about whether appointed managers will live within the boundaries of Fort Worth ISD. State law does not require that, but Morath has typically appointed managers who represent the community, Lecholop said.
鈥淚f a great applicant applies who happens to live on the wrong side of the street, they are not excluded from service on this board,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur North Star is to try to appoint a board that represents the Fort Worth community.鈥�
The unknown is what鈥檚 so scary for Andrews, she said. So many questions are still unanswered, she said, and won鈥檛 be until Morath makes his appointment.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 coming,鈥� Andrews said. 鈥淚t makes me want to look for another job in another district that isn鈥檛 being taken over by TEA.鈥�
Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or .
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