The Fort Worth Independent School District has passed a resolution to "prioritize" student literacy. The school board passed the resolution Tuesday night.
Just 52% of students across Texas are reading at or above grade level; in Fort Worth ISD, only 43% are meeting standards.
"Imagine the consequences for these children and our community if we don't intervene," says School Board President Roxanne Martinez.
Martinez says kids who fall behind in third grade have a two percent chance of earning an associate's or bachelor's degree.
"Literacy is destiny," she says. "Students who read at grade level are far more likely to attend college, secure better jobs and escape cycles of poverty. Those who cannot often face limited opportunities and economic hardship."
She says the resolution establishes literacy as "priority number one" for the district.
The resolution calls for the establishment of "specific, measurable benchmarks" to monitor students' progress, strategies to replicate successful programs at high-performing schools at campuses with lower scores and providing parents with regular updates.
City Councilwoman Gyna Bivens says, while just 43% of students meet standards, 96% of parents believe their kids are performing well.
"Just ask your teacher, 'Is my child reading at grade level?'" she says. "By doing that, I have seen more parents get involved, get engaged."
Fort Worth ISD says only 20% of Black students and 31% of Hispanic students are meeting standards.
In 2017, former Superintendent Kent Scribner and former Mayor Betsy Price announced a goal of getting all third graders to read at their grade level by 2025. Fort Worth ISD says learning loss during the pandemic contributed to kids not able to meet standards.
Interim Superintendent Karen Molinar says a change in leadership among school board members and a more detailed plan will bring more success.
"This resolution gives the marching orders to staff," she says. "Our district has to have that foundation in place to move forward in the areas of math, science and social studies as well. That's the difference. We're starting internally this time, and we're coming out of the gate with a very detailed plan that we'll roll out pre-K through 12."
A complete list of items included in the plan passed Monday evening:
• Specific, measurable benchmarks using multiple evaluation tools to
determine progress;
• Strategies to support and replicate success across all schools, particularly
in schools with demonstrated literacy achievement under challenging
circumstances, focused on increasing vocabulary complexity and
knowledge coherence through the use of complex texts covering multiple
TEKS, writing in response to reading, and writing across the curriculum;
• A commitment to rigorous and honest evaluations of student performance,
ensuring progress is measured transparently and without grade inflation;
• A commitment to high quality professional development in the area of
literacy for all content teachers;
• Using High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) to support instruction;
• Providing parents with regular reports specific to their student’s literacy
progress, ensuring families are informed to help their child meet the
achievement of reading at grade-level; and
• Mechanisms to align district resources and personnel evaluations with the
literacy improvement goals.
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