Fort Worth ISD begins new school year as TEA takeover decision looms; school officials hopeful it won't happen
Doors opened for the first day of school at ML Philips Elementary in Fort Worth.
"It's palpable the difference that you feel when you walk through a campus today than a year ago," said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker.
A looming decision concerning a possible TEA takeover hangs over the district from Austin. But Mayor Parker and Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Karen Molinar said they feel confident about where the district stands.
"ML Philips is one of our elementary schools that is really a beacon of success for us going into this school year. ML Philips has grown more than 30 points to go from an F-rated campus to a B-rated campus," said Molinar.
"Whatever that decision, we are ready. We are going to operate at top level for the next several months, demonstrating whether we have the right plan in place for this school district and this community. That's what we can control right now," said Parker.
Molinar said TEA Commissioner Mike Morath will be visiting the district next month and hopes that the district's recommitment to fundamentals will show him they don't need to take over control of the school system.
"That's something we've been lacking is consistency of instructional framework in math and literacy. So, we're going to see a strong focus, and we will see gains," said Molinar.
And Parker said Molinar has taken on the challenge and run with it.
"I'm fully confident that the changes we asked for, not just as your mayor, but as a community, were listened to," said Parker.
Both hope the TEA will see how much effort the district has put into improving and decide against a district takeover.
"We're going to continue to move on and do what's right for our students and really become student-centered and student-focused here in Fort Worth ISD," said Molinar.
"I'm fully confident that the changes we asked for not just as your mayor, but as a community was listened to," said Parker.
The new 2024 and 2025 A-F ratings from the TEA are expected to drop on Friday, Aug. 15, and Fort Worth ISD said over 50 campuses are expected to increase in letter grades.
