Where have I heard this before?
Fort Worth ISD families say sweeping restructuring could weaken the tailored support their students — from English learners to college-bound seniors and kids in speech therapy — depend on.
International Newcomer Academy teacher Whitney Peters is worried her students — and English learners across FWISD — won’t receive the support they need if specialized instruction is replaced with a one-size-fits-all approach in traditional classrooms.
Shannon Jones is worried her two sons, who attend Young Men’s Leadership Academy, will see a lack of individualized college guidance if a career readiness specialist position is eliminated.
Kendra Frank is worried her son, who receives speech therapy through the district, will see interruptions in services as staffing cuts create support gaps that schools may struggle to fill.
Families like theirs are now trying to understand what the now-approved staff reductions and operations overhaul from the district’s state-appointed leadership means for their children. The board of managers unanimously approved the program change early Wednesday morning.
More than 100 people spoke during more than five hours of public comment that was often punctuated by cheers and jeers from the audience during a standing room-only meeting.
Superintendent Peter Licata said he is reducing district administration and resetting the entire FWISD system. The district is refocusing on providing direct targeted comprehensive support for students based out of their campuses.
Jones, though, doesn’t quite see it that way. As a Mansfield ISD administrator, she understands the pressure the district’s leaders are going through. But the cuts she’s concerned with ensure students can get into college.
“Listen, I get it: We have to balance the budget, but we have to consider what positions actually impact kids,” Jones said. “We’re firing or getting rid of positions that are student-facing.”
FWISD is built for upwards of 90,000 students, but enrollment next year will be around 66,500 students, Licata said. Existing support and services created one of the worst performing urban school systems in Texas, he added.
This isn’t exactly the same as Mike Miles gutting HISD’s wraparound services in the name of cutting budget to support his grand NES visions, but it’s in the same neighborhood. The point is, and I feel pretty confident now saying it will happen everywhere that a Miles minion is being installed as a takeover Superintendent, is that everything will be geared towards replicating the NES model, and anything that isn’t deemed necessary for that will be on the chopping block. This is your future, FWISD and Lake Worth ISD and Beaumont ISD and Connelly ISD. Learn what you can from our experience, and maybe you’ll have better luck at mitigating the stuff you really don’t like.