Fort Worth ISD board votes to approve staff reductions, new instructional model
The Fort Worth school district voted during a special board meeting Tuesday night to implement a new instructional model that will impact staffing, including a reduction in staff positions within the district.
The district’s state-appointed Board of Managers unanimously voted to implement the “Elevate Network,” a new model created by Superintendent Peter Licata that Fort Worth ISD will follow to “ensure every student has access to strong instruction and support they need to succeed.”
The Elevate Network will aim to improve teaching skills, address underwhelming academic performance, strengthen instruction and increase resources to support students. Schools in the network will also have a longer school year that stretches further into the summer, student-teachers training to become full-time educators, support staff for teachers during lessons and group instruction, and higher teacher pay.
Schools identified by Licata as part of the Elevate model include:
- Clifford Davis Elementary
- Diamond Hill Elementary
- East Handley Elementary
- George Clarke Elementary
- Harlean Beal Elementary
- Hazel Harvey Peace Elementary
- Maudrie Walton Elementary
- Monnig Middle
- Morningside Middle
- Rufino Mendoze Sr. Elementary
- T.A. Sims Elementary
- Van Zandt-Guinn Elementary
- W.J. Turner Elementary
- W.M. Green Elementary
- Wedgwood Middle
- Westcreek Elementary
- Eastern Hills-West Handley Elementary
- Western Hills Elementary
- William James Middle
Clifford Davis Elementary, Morningside Middle, Wedgwood Middle, Eastern Hills-West Handley Elementary, Western Hills Elementary and William James Middle are also campuses that have adopted the Accelerating Campus Excellence, or ACE, state turnaround model. This model has provided struggling campuses with additional funding for a longer school year, high-quality instructional materials and a strategic teacher compensation plan.
“The Elevate Network will be a path forward for our schools that have been persistently underperforming,” said Daniel Soliz, deputy superintendent and chief of schools, during a presentation to the board. “We are really focused on three components: support, structure and resources. We want to build strong teaching skills in every teacher in every classroom, establishing consistent execution of our instructional delivery.”
Teachers at the 19 Elevate schools received notice after the board meeting Tuesday with information about whether they will be retained. Those staff members include critical-need teachers, core teachers and elective teachers. Principals for the 13 schools will also be selected by the district by May 1.
Teachers currently at the 19 Elevate schools are invited to internal hiring fairs held by the district on both April 18 and April 25. Teachers who wish to reapply to keep their jobs at Elevate schools will have every opportunity to do so, Licata said.
“If teachers apply, they will be notified whether they qualify or whether they have options, and we will present those options in a clear statement,” Licata said. “At this point, we are talking about every option possible for our staff members that come from those 13 plus six campuses.”
The new model comes alongside campus closures that were already approved for this summer. Those schools include: Milton Kirkpatrick Elementary, Charles E. Nash Elementary, Riverside Applied Learning Center, Edward J. Briscoe Elementary, Western Hills Primary and De Zavala Elementary.
Reorganization of Fort Worth ISD leadership approved by board
The Fort Worth ISD board also approved a new organizational structure that includes breaking up the district into regions and assigning each a regional chief to keep support closer to schools. Regional chiefs will be assigned for Fort Worth ISD Central, North and South. There will be a regional chief assigned to the Elevate campuses as well.
Working under each regional chief will be a regional office, which will include directors for: instructional leadership, school operations, special-education compliance, human resources and IT.
The leaders of the regional offices will be:
- Elevate campuses: Shon Joseph, previously executive director of instruction at Houston ISD
- Central campuses: Kyndra Tyler, previously executive director of instruction at Houston ISD
- North campuses: Pablo Resendiz, previously assistant superintendent at Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia
- South campuses: Isaac Williams, previously interim superintendent of Promesa Acadamy in San Antonio
“Creating the Elevate Network where executive directors and regional chiefs are in multiple regions of the district was really the best option,” Soliz said. “Our goal and our instructional expectation is to really live in a system where we have pride in the quality of instruction across all schools in our district with one standard in every classroom regardless of accountability rating.”
FWISD’s new ‘Elevate’ model met with community pushback
A number of community members spoke in opposition to the instructional plan during the public comment session of Tuesday’s meeting. Speakers were largely concerned about how teachers at schools chosen for the Elevate Network will have to reapply for their jobs and attend an internal hiring fair in the coming days.
Zach Leonard, president of Families Organized Resisting Takeover, a parent advocacy group formed during the TEA takeover process of the district, told the state-appointed Board of Managers that it is irresponsible to make major decisions about the district before holding listening sessions with parents and considering community feedback.
“We are asking you to delay the vote on reductions in force and prioritize setting the district strategic plan guardrails with meaningful community input first,” Leonard told the board. “When does the board plan to roll out the community outreach and listening sessions to set guardrails? That should be your first priority before any major changes take place.”
Steven Poole, executive director of the United Educators Association, echoed a similar stance. He said the district has already seen a natural staff reduction as the number of students in the district has decreased.
“No one has ever lost their job,” Poole said. “It has all been done through attrition. As people retire or resign at the end of the school year, other people are slotted into those positions. So just by adding a possible reduction in force, it increases the anxiety in the district. You can see it in this room. There is no need to do a reduction in force.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 10:52 PM.
