The North Side High School JROTC cadets opened the meeting with the presentation of colors. 

Recognitions

At the April 28 meeting, the Board of Education congratulated Fort Worth ISD’s Texas Music Educators Associations All-State musicians. The prestigious award only goes to around 1,700 students in the entire state and 18 of those students are from FWISD.

The board also applauded the theatre educators who helped the district earn the Texas Thespians Premier Communities for Theatre Education Award. This honor recognizes school districts with theatre teachers who go above and beyond for their students and craft.

Consent Agenda

The board approved the consent agenda. Some items of note include:

• Purchases for various instructional materials
• A new mass notification system for staff and families 
• Seat belts for buses

Among the facility changes include rezoning for De Zavala Elementary School families. Students who live north of Rosedale will attend Lily B. Clayton Elementary and those who live south of Rosedale will attend E. M. Daggett Elementary started in the 2026-27 school year.

Action Items

The board approved amendments to the calendars for the 2026-27 school year. The Texas Education Agency directed schools to suspend celebrations of Cesar Chavez, as a result, Fort Worth ISD changed March 29 to a professional learning day for staff and still a day off for students. 

Also, the district will move away from a full redesign of the Additional Days School Year calendar and will instead implement a summer-based program into the schedule. This model maintains aligned starts to the school year across campuses while expanding learning time through an additional 25 days of instruction delivered during the summer. 

Lastly, the board approved a program change and reduction in force. In an effort to offset costs and realign services to better serve students at the campus level, some employees will have to reapply for their jobs, some jobs will be cut, and the International Newcomer Academy will close. INA students will attend their home-zoned campus. All students will continue to receive special education, bilingual, and English Second Language services.

Statement from Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Dr. Peter Licata

Last night, the Board of Managers took important steps to strengthen Fort Worth ISD and improve outcomes for all students, including Emergent Bilingual learners and students with disabilities. These were thoughtful decisions, and I am grateful for the Board’s careful consideration and its continued focus on what matters most: student success.

We recognize these changes are deeply personal for many families and staff. We have heard those concerns, and the district’s commitment is clear: the changes approved last night are not about reducing support for students. They are about using our resources more effectively so we can direct more support into classrooms and toward the students who need it most. No student will lose access to required services as a result of these changes.

Every recommendation brought forward by our team is grounded in research, informed by best practices, and shaped by what is working in comparable districts. The program changes approved last night will preserve essential supports and services while positioning us to deliver stronger academic outcomes for students across the district.

These changes are part of a broader redesign to strengthen services, not reduce them. For students with disabilities, the district is strengthening inclusion, improving supervision and compliance systems, and moving toward a fully credentialed staffing model designed to deliver more consistent, timely, and high-quality services. The district is implementing the reorganization and will be posting positions and job opportunities within a few days.

Campuses will provide wraparound support to include student onboarding, family engagement, and access to academic, social, and emotional resources. Bilingual coordinators will collaborate with teachers to provide expert instruction to students in literacy, math science and social studies. Embedding language development expertise within lessons ensures stronger alignment, higher-quality implementation, and improved outcomes for emergent bilingual students.

Our decisions regarding the International Newcomer Academy are guided by evidence about what best supports newcomer and Emergent Bilingual students. Research consistently shows students achieve stronger outcomes when robust language supports are paired with integration into their school communities. By reallocating resources from a model serving fewer students than intended, we can extend targeted support to more newcomer students, in more schools, closer to home.

We are all striving for better student outcomes, and we are grateful for the passion within our Fort Worth ISD community.