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TCC South/FWISD Collegiate High School students walk to class on Aug. 15, 2022. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CAS_FIRSTDAYOFSCHOOL-6.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CAS_FIRSTDAYOFSCHOOL-6.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>Teachers Megan Breedlove, Ale Checka and Karen Gonzalez were eager for improvements when Angélica Ramsey became Fort Worth ISD superintendent in fall 2022.More than two years later, they say their hopes were dashed after promises of a better school district were made but never delivered. Instead, the educators said, they deal with mounds of paperwork to meet district leaders’ call for data-driven instruction; technology issues that plague students and staff; and campuses that are limited in managing discipline issues.Still, they remain hopeful that meaningful change will come after Mayor Mattie Parker described Fort Worth ISD as “unacceptable” and called for a plan to turn around the school district. The teachers who talked to the Fort Worth Report felt emboldened to speak out after Parker’s address showed the school district had reached a boiling point.“We currently have no sense there is a plan for anything,” Checka, who’s taught since 2008 and is a former district teacher of the year, said. “I think it is time for new leadership.”The Report contacted more than a dozen current and former Fort Worth ISD educators, but many said they were afraid to speak out over concerns about possible retaliation from the school district — a point a teacher emphasized during a recent school board meeting.Scott Blanco-Davis, a middle school science teacher at World Languages Institute, told trustees Sept. 10 that a group of longtime educators who have a combined 400 years of experience asked him to voice their concerns because they were fearful of possible reprisal from administration.“They won’t even let me tell you what school they’re in because now they just want to be left alone,” said Blanco-Davis, who occasionally speaks during school board meetings.The three teachers who the Report interviewed said they hoped their words would lead to solutions for the district.“There seems to be this attitude that, if we could only think of the right program, then all these problems would be solved,” said Breedlove, a Spanish and French teacher at McLean Middle School in her 11th year of teaching. “They’re ignoring those of us on the frontlines who know what it takes to solve the problems.”Tell us more

Are you a teacher in Fort Worth ISD? Or work for the district? We want to hear from you.

The Fort Worth Report wants to hear about your experiences working for Fort Worth ISD in recent years and your thoughts on how the school district can improve for students, employees and our community.

.Jacob Sanchez is a senior education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.