Parents reflect on ‘bittersweet’ final year at closing Fort Worth ISD schools
On a hot August afternoon, students dressed in cowboy hats and boots trickled out the front door of Riverside Applied Learning Center a few at a time as the school’s assistant principal called their names. On the sidewalk, several teachers, some also dressed in cowboy duds, gave hugs and high fives as they helped the kids make their way to their parents’ cars.
It was Western Day at Riverside — just one of the many occasions the elementary school will celebrate for the last time this year. Riverside is one of four schools in the Fort Worth Independent School District that began their final school year on Aug. 12, and parents are reflecting on what’s next for their children.
Marissa Sanchez was there to pick up her three kids. Although many students at Riverside live close by, Sanchez’s kids have a longer commute. After school every day, the family gets in their car and drives back to their home in Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD.
Sanchez went to Riverside herself when she was in elementary school, and when she learned about the Fort Worth district’s open enrollment policy, she thought it might be a good fit for her kids. One of her daughters is hard of hearing, and the conversations she had with teachers at Riverside left her feeling confident they knew how to handle any accommodations she would need.
When she heard about the possibility of Riverside closing, Sanchez got involved. She went to community meetings where Fort Worth ISD leaders discussed various scenarios for closing and consolidating campuses.
Once Riverside closes, Sanchez’s children will move to Bonnie Brae Elementary School, about half a mile south of Riverside. Fort Worth ISD officials also plan to move the applied learning program to Bonnie Brae once Riverside closes. Applied learning offers a hands-on approach to learning that works well for Sanchez’s kids, she said.
“They enjoy going to school now,” she said.
Sanchez’s oldest daughter, Camila Olivas, is a fourth-grader at Riverside. Camila said she loves going to Riverside because the teachers there help her learn. She’s sad about her school closing at the end of the year. Most of her friends feel the same way, she said.
Sanchez said all three of her kids have been nervous about what will happen next year. They worry that their friends won’t follow them to Bonnie Brae. Sanchez has assured them that most of them will probably be there, but she can’t say for certain that some won’t go elsewhere.
Mostly, Sanchez said she thinks it’s unfair that the district would shut the campus down. Riverside is a successful school, she said, pointing to the A rating it received in this year’s A-F scores.
William Sheppard, another Riverside parent, said his three kids were upset when he broke the news to them that their school would be closing at the end of the year. They were mainly worried about whether they’ll have to make new friends at a new school next year, he said. His oldest is a second-grader, and he’s been at the school long enough to form deep friendships, Sheppard said. Although he couldn’t say for certain that those friends will be at his new school next year, Sheppard said he’s sure his son will land on his feet.
“With his personality, I tell him he’ll be able to make plenty of friends,” he said.
Why are Fort Worth ISD schools closing?
Earlier this year, Fort Worth ISD’s board approved a plan to close 18 campuses across the district over the next four years. About a decade of declining enrollment left the district with many school buildings that were half-empty. District officials said the closures were part of an effort to make better use of Fort Worth ISD’s resources and offer a better experience for its students.
Like many big urban school districts across the country, Fort Worth ISD has seen its enrollment fall steadily over the past five years. During the 2019-20 school year, the district had 82,888 students enrolled. As of Aug. 20, 65,777 students were enrolled for the current school year, representing a 20% decline. Enrollment numbers for the 2025-26 year won’t be finalized until the end of October, so the district’s total enrollment could be larger than where it stands currently.
Besides Riverside, three other schools — Edward J. Briscoe, Milton Kirkpatrick and Charles Nash elementary schools — are also scheduled to close at the end of this school year. From 2019 to 2024, those four campuses lost a combined 21% of their enrollment, district figures show.
Here’s where the students at these schools will be transferring to in the 2026-27 school year:
- Briscoe Elementary → Carroll Peak, Morningside and Van Zandt-Guinn
- Kirkpatrick Elementary → Washington Heights and Dolores Huerta
- Charles Nash Elementary → Oakhurst, Versia Williams and Rufino Mendoza
- Riverside Applied Learning Center → Bonnie Brae
Charles Nash Elementary
Charles Nash Elementary parents said they liked the school’s small size of roughly 200 students and its historical value. Built in 1927, it will close just short of its 100th school year.
“It’s their 99th year. I was like, ‘They could have let them go one more year. Make it to 100,’” said parent Ashley Carranza.
She noted the smaller enrollment meant smaller class sizes, which she appreciates as a parent. All of the teachers know all of the students by the winter break. This year marks her daughter’s third year at the school; she first enrolled in kindergarten and is now starting second grade.
Although Carranza is a little sad, her daughter is excited to go to a new school and meet new people, she said. Her daughter wanted to switch schools this year, but Carranza said her family wanted to stay put for one last year.
“It’s bittersweet,” Carranza said about the school closing. “I wanted to come back for their last year, too, because it’s been a good school. We like it.”
As Anthony Wallace sat on a metal bench in front of the historical brick building waiting for his three children on a recent afternoon, he reflected on the uncertainty of what next school year will look like for his children who currently attend Charles Nash. The first-, third- and fifth-grade students have experienced all types of education settings: charter school, home school and now public school. It’s unclear if they’ll stay in Fort Worth ISD next year.
Wallace called Charles Nash “a gem” with a “perfect” location that’s down the street from his family’s home, adding that he wished the school would stay open.
“They have low population in the school, but they are excellent when it comes to school record academics. And the environment was A1,” Wallace said. “I spoke to my wife, I told her, ‘This is a gem. I don’t understand the closure because they have positive results, but it’s on the chopping block.’”
The school received a C performance rating from the Texas Education Agency this year, down from its B rating issued in the 2023-24 school year.
Edward J. Briscoe Elementary
About 5½ miles southeast of Charles Nash Elementary, Crystal Moreno took shade from the Texas heat on Tuesday afternoon under a group of trees in front of another soon-to-be-closed Fort Worth elementary school. She was unaware of the campus’ closure until a Star-Telegram reporter informed her.
Moreno, a Briscoe Elementary parent, spoke highly of the campus as she waited for her first-grade son and third-grade daughter to be dismissed from class.
“They’re very attentive. They’re always on top of everything. They let you know all the information that’s going on in the school, and the teachers are super great,” Moreno said of the school located in the Morningside neighborhood.
Moreno plans to keep her children enrolled in the district and said it might be more convenient for her family if the school was a little farther away from home, as they live too close to Briscoe Elementary for her children to take the bus to school. After her husband drops them off in the mornings, Moreno has to walk about a mile each way to pick up her son and daughter. If the weather isn’t ideal, she takes an Uber to and from the school.
The school has an enrollment of about 280 students and has received an F rating from state officials for the past three school years. It was built in 1988 and named after a famed Black educator and humanitarian.
With Briscoe Elementary known as a strong community anchor, several parents, students and teachers attended the Fort Worth school board’s May 20 meeting in one final fight to speak out try to keep the school open. Although the board would approve its closure alongside several other campuses later that night, community members showed their support with matching shirts displaying the school’s eagle mascot and handmade signs that pleaded, “We need Briscoe in our community!” and also asked: “Why Briscoe?”
During public comment, a then-fourth-grader walked up to the podium and told school board members she had attended the campus since she was 3 years old, following the footsteps of her older brothers and sisters. Alongside her, a trophy from the Readers Become Leaders program stood tall while bearing the school’s name underneath its “2024 champion” title. The 10-week program consists of students logging how many minutes they read every day, and the top schools get to attend an open practice of the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships, where the winners are announced.
“All of my favorite teachers are here. All of the young kids want to stay at Briscoe because of all of the great things there,” she said. She specifically mentioned the Academy 4 program, where volunteers mentor fourth-graders and build relationships with them.
“Our music teacher lets us explore songs and dance with programs. Briscoe is a nice, clean building, and we don’t understand why you (would) want to close such a nice campus and send us to older schools that don’t have such nice buildings,” the student added. “We even won this trophy at Readers Become Leaders. Please consider keeping Briscoe open.”
Kirkpatrick Elementary School
Just before the school day ended on Monday, Aug. 18, Mercadies Lovett was lingering in the shade outside Kirkpatrick Elementary School, waiting to pick up her son. He’s a fifth-grader this year, so he’ll move across Lincoln Avenue to Kirkpatrick Middle School next year. Still, she expects he’ll be sad to see his elementary school close down. That’s why she hasn’t told him the news, she said.
Although it won’t affect her son directly, Lovett said she worries about what will happen to the Kirkpatrick students who will have to move to another school next year. She wonders if there will be enough classroom space and how parents will deal with longer commute times to and from their kids’ school. She wishes the district had opted to close the school in phases, letting current students finish out their time there but not allowing any incoming students to enroll.
Eric Palmer, another parent at Kirkpatrick Elementary, said he hadn’t told his kids about the district’s closure plans. His oldest, a fifth-grader, will move on to Kirkpatrick Middle School next year, and on to high school before the middle school closes in 2029. But his younger two, a first-grader and a third-grader, will be affected by both closures.
Palmer said his kids will likely be disappointed when they learn the school is closing at the end of the year. His family has strong connections to both schools. He attended Kirkpatrick when he was in elementary school. So did his parents and his grandparents. The school has stood in Fort Worth’s North Side neighborhood for more than 75 years, educating many generations of students.
Beyond the loss of a historical touchstone for his family, Palmer said the closure also has major consequences for his kids’ education. But he didn’t have a clear picture of exactly what those consequences would be.
“We don’t know what the future holds,” he said. “What elementary school is going to be next? We just don’t know. The future is unforeseen right now.”
This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 4:45 AM.
