Fort Worth charter school parents say board chair’s posts foster discrimination
Parents of a nonprofit that manages two public charter schools in the Fort Worth area are demanding the resignation of the board chair because they say her offensive social media posts are exposing their children to discrimination.
On July 1, Cheryl Bean, board chair of the Texas Center for Arts and Academics, posted on Facebook an AI-generated illustration of WNBA player Sophie Cunningham on a boat with her Indiana Fever teammates, posing similarly to the “Washington Crossing the Delaware” painting. In the image, Cunningham is pointing forward, referencing a June 22 game when she pointed dramatically at Phoenix Mercury player DeWanna Bonner after a physical altercation with Cunningham’s teammate Caitlin Clark. By 11:30 a.m. July 2 the post was deleted.
Bean, a Republican, is running for House District 94 in November. The Texas Center for Arts and Academics governs two public charter schools, one in Fort Worth.
On July 5, Alycia Bennett, a parent of two children at Texas School of the Arts, started a petition asking for the resignation of Bean for not just “a single image, but a pattern of social media activity that perpetuates racial stereotypes,” the petition said.
The petition shows multiple posts from Bean across Facebook, X and Instagram. One shows a red plane with “Mandami” and a hammer and sickle on its side flying toward what appears to be the World Trade Center. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani identifies as Muslim and is a democratic socialist.
In another, Bean commented “Too Funny” in response to a meme showing Melania Trump holding a sign saying “Jasmine Crockett I speak five languages, while you struggle with English.”
As of July 8, the petition has over 1,300 signatures.
Bean has not responded to requests for comment. Superintendent Anika Perkins said the school is aware of the petition, but had no comment on the matter. Perkins said questions should be directed to Bean.
One parent, who asked for anonymity because he is going through the process of naturalization and because he feared retaliation from the school, says the schools are a special place for students to feel supported and find their voice in the arts. The parent said he has witnessed families move because they feel not only actively discriminated against, but also not feeling protected.
“It’s meant to be a refuge for these kids, and to have a person who is clearly demonstrating in public what they feel about these protected groups or their main constituents, I think is just it’s a bridge too far for a lot of people,” the parent said. “And I think that is reflected in just the popularity of the petition.”
This has not been the first time the school has been under scrutiny.
In 2023, The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas filed a civil rights complaint against Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts on behalf of a family with a transgender and nonbinary child who was banned from joining the prestigious Singing Girls of Texas choir. The board voted on a new choir eligibility policy in which students can only perform with the choir that aligns with their sex assigned at birth and must provide an unaltered birth certificate before auditioning.
