Fort Worth ISD sees ratings improvement as superintendent praises strong start to school year

Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Peter Licata said the district had "a really, really good week."

"Not everything was perfect, we know that," Licata said. "With 100+ campuses, you know things are going to go wrong."

He described the first week back to school as "not perfect, but a great start." 

The district operates under the authority of the Texas Education Agency, and Licata visited William Monnig Middle School on Friday afternoon to see how the first week went.

Monnig Middle School is one of the district's Elevate campuses, which receive extra staffing and resources to ensure students get the attention they need to succeed. The campus received a D rating from the TEA on Friday when the agency released its annual ratings, but overall, there was improvement for Fort Worth ISD.

The newly released ratings show 17 A‑rated campuses and 38 B‑rated campuses, compared to 28 last year. The district received 43 C ratings, 19 D ratings (up from 28 last year), and 7 F‑rated campuses, down from 11 last year.

It's momentum Licata hopes to build on.

"There's a buzz in the air," Licata said. "You saw the process and the systems that are in place with students walking, classroom teaching, teaching going on, on a Friday afternoon after a long week during the first week of school. This is when we have a chance to teach children, we don't get them on the weekends, we don't get them at night, when they're here, we have to teach them."