FWISD JOINS TEXAS CONSORTIUM ON SCHOOL RESEARCH 

Fort Worth, Texas – The Fort Worth Independent School District has joined with 19 Texas school districts to form the Texas Consortium on School Research. The goal of the Texas Consortium is to allow members from districts across the state to collaborate in building research capacity to address critical issues to support improvement efforts.   

Sara Arispe, the executive director of FWISD’s Accountability and Data Quality Department, will be the District’s representative to the Consortium. 

“I believe Fort Worth ISD can really benefit from the collaboration with this group of districts and researchers,” Ms. Arispe said. “The Texas Consortium will also allow us to create a ‘community of practice’ through shared knowledge and practices.” 

This inaugural meeting focused on the issue of College Readiness.  Meeting minimum high school graduation requirements is no longer enough, according to state leaders.  All students must be prepared to succeed in college and persist through graduation.     

Representation at the Texas Consortium included Aldine ISD, Austin ISD, Beaumont ISD, Carrolton-Farmers Branch ISD, Conroe ISD, Corpus Christi ISD, Cypress-Fairbanks, Dallas ISD, El Paso ISD, Fort Bend ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Galena Park ISD, Houston ISD, Humble ISD, Klein ISD, Lubbock ISD, Northside ISD, Plano ISD and YES Prep Public Schools.  

In addition, representatives from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Texas Education Agency, Texas Association of School Administrators and The Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education participated in the event.  

A second meeting of the Texas Consortium is planned for late January 2010 in Austin. 

-FWISD-