Teachers at soon-defunct International Newcomer Academy scrambling for next steps
Teachers at International Newcomer Academy say they feel stressed, rushed and confused while deciding their next steps after Fort Worth ISD’s Board of Managers voted to close the campus during a highly-contested meeting last week.
In a series of interviews with the Star-Telegram, current teachers at the soon-defunct campus, designated for immigrants and refugees new to the United States, said not much has been shared with them between the April 28 board vote and now. At that board meeting, over 130 people spoke during a public comment session that lasted nearly six hours. Most of them passionately defended the campus and pleaded for the board to keep it open.
INA teachers received an email at 6 a.m. on April 29, just hours after the board voted to close the school, informing them they had three options for how to move forward. They could put their name in the mix for a job at another Fort Worth ISD campus, attend a job fair that weekend, or decide to leave the district and resign effective immediately, according to several INA teachers.
“Some of my colleagues have already found jobs,” a teacher told the Star-Telegram. “Some have been within the district and others have been outside of it. But many are still looking. As of now, we haven’t been given any real update on whether staff will be accommodated or supported in any specific way.”
Several other INA teachers confirmed that account.
Another INA staffer said teachers were sent a document to sign and return a day later if they were interested in working at an Elevate campus, a network of 19 schools created by Superintendent Peter Licata and the board that require specialized attention due to persistent academic underperformance. The teacher said every staff member at INA was trying to get a hold of the district’s talent management department at the same time.
“No one is helping us navigate the changes,” the teacher said. “An expired job fair was originally sent to us then a corrected email was sent later. We have to all call payroll separately to try to figure out when our pay will end.”
A copy of the 2026-27 employee intent form sent by the district to INA teachers that was obtained by the Star-Telegram shows three choices given to recipients reading as follows:
- Option 1: I am interested in being considered and will apply by April 30, 2026 (one day after the email was sent) for a position at an ELEVATE Campus for the 2026-27 school year.
- Option 2: I am not interested in a position at an ELEVATE Campus; however, I intend to seek other employment opportunities within Fort Worth ISD.
- Option 3: I hereby resign or retire from Fort Worth ISD effective as of my last reporting date for the 2025-26 school year and will not seek a new position in Fort Worth ISD for the 2026-27 school year.
Teachers who chose to apply for an opening at an Elevate campus were asked to go through a “performance task” exercise to determine whether they meet certain criteria for the job. While being timed, teachers had to explain how they would handle different situations in the classroom. District leadership graded their responses through a ticket system. A gold ticket allowed them to talk with the district about Elevate school opportunities. A silver ticket only allowed them to talk to non-Elevate campuses.
“The new leadership, they’re making it really high-stakes with these performance tasks because they’re saying, ‘This is what it’s going to be like if you work at an Elevate school,’” a teacher said. “So it’s a very different vibe, trying to get a job at an Elevate campus compared to another campus.”
Licata and district leadership have previously stated they are looking for “the best of the best” to fill teaching openings at the 19 Elevate schools. About 40-60% of teachers currently at an Elevate school will qualify to keep their jobs, Licata told the Star-Telegram. The district has already identified a lot of internal candidates, and some teachers will automatically qualify because of their test score data. Salaries for Elevate campus positions can be as much as $100,000 a year.
Another INA teacher described the reduction in force across the district and the relocation of INA staff as “nothing I have ever seen before.” While reductions in force happen at schools across the country rather regularly, the way Fort Worth ISD has gone about it is anything but typical, the teacher said.
“We got an email saying our contract won’t be renewed,” the teacher said. “Usually you are pulled into a room and management tells you. So the way they’re going about this reduction in force is very abnormal compared to any way it’s been done before. It’s very demoralizing.”
A spokesperson for Fort Worth ISD did not respond to the Star-Telegram’s request for comment on the complaints from INA staff.
Fort Worth ISD leadership first announced it was considering closing the academy less than two weeks before the April 28 board vote, during a private staff meeting with teachers and administrators at the school. At that meeting, Daniel Soliz, deputy superintendent and chief of schools, told teachers there was a comprehensive plan in place for staff and students if the school were to close, but said he could not share specifics, according to several teachers present at the meeting who spoke to the Star-Telegram.
Licata previously told the Star-Telegram that district leadership knows exactly which campus every student who was slated to return to INA for the 2026-27 school year will attend school next year. Since the vote on April 28, students and their families have been informed by the district where they will attend school next year.
Licata said that students at INA will be assimilated into other Fort Worth schools, and that other immigrants and early English language learners who are at other schools in the district are outperforming students at INA because they are exposed to more opportunities. The main reason for the board’s decision to close the campus was because of disproportionate access to resources and “larger campus” amenities, district officials said.
“I find it a civil rights issue because we’re not letting our children experience large campuses that offer electives that might interest them,” Licata said. “That might bring them into school more often, and might give them the reason to show up at school and be motivated by it. This is not easy. I visited the school and walked in the classrooms. There is great teaching going on, the principal is wonderful. But reality is, they’re not getting everything that we should be offering them.”
