To turn around Fort Worth ISD, here’s how to empower more teachers as leaders | Opinion

“Miss, how is this answer wrong? It’s the same thing!” My student was in after-school tutoring. He needed help understanding the significance between the number “0.25” in his calculator and the “25” he wrote on his paper for his answer. I offered: “If someone owes you $25, do you accept 25 cents? Are those the same thing?” My comparison helped him get to the next problem.

As a physics teacher in Fort Worth ISD, I sometimes find myself tutoring 16-year-olds in basic concepts such as place value. Students may come to me several grades behind in math, reading or writing. While I do everything I can to prepare my students for college and careers, I cannot do it alone. It will take more than one person to improve Fort Worth ISD’s academics, even if that person is the next superintendent.

The district’s interim superintendent, Karen Molinar, promises change through greater transparency so that families can better understand how their kids are doing in school. But to turn things around, we need to do more. This year marks my 10th with the district and 16th in education. During my tenure I have witnessed high teacher turnover, minimal staff training and a lack of professional opportunities for teachers. These problems ripple outwards to our students, but they are avoidable. The district needs to empower its top teachers to lead the way.

Fort Worth ISD’s next superintendent needs to understand that teacher leaders are the pathway to improvement.

National Board Certification for More Teacher Leaders

To cultivate more effective teachers, FWISD can first encourage its teachers to pursue National Board Certification. According to the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards, board-certified teachers have a significantly higher impact on their students, especially students of color.

Under the last few administrations in FWISD, we have had inconsistent programs for improving teacher quality. Being a national board candidate was one of the most transformational professional development experiences I have ever had. While I prepared my portfolios for certification, I became hyper-aware of my practice and more reflective as a teacher. This program could give other educators a clear pathway to success, and they could lead programs such as teacher training and advising on campus issues.

Teacher Incentive Allotment and Higher Earnings for Teacher Leaders

FWISD could do more to ensure that its top teachers are benefitting from the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment. This program, already adopted by the district a few years ago, can grant teachers bonuses from $3,000 to $30,000. However some teachers think the path to a highly-effective designation is unfair due to their teaching assignment or evaluation bias. For example, physics teachers are not yet included in the Teacher Incentive Allotment rollout for FWISD in the 2024-25 school year.

Fortunately, National Board Certification helps address these sentiments by automatically qualifying teachers as “recognized” by the state. Teachers with the highest distinctions could be earning six-figure salaries — helping to motivate them to stay — and perhaps incentivized to transfer to our highest-need schools.

Teacher Mentoring Programs Benefit Both Mentors and Mentees

Fort Worth ISD has no official agenda for mentoring. This pains me because it was not always this way. I had a great mentor who helped me in my first year teaching Advanced Placement Physics. I was able to help students pass the exam and pursue engineering degrees. With so many new or uncertified educators in the district now, effective mentoring could have a huge impact.

The district could use board-certified teachers and those identified by the Teacher Incentive Allotment as mentors. The mentor teachers benefit as well. In a report by the Education Trust and Teach Plus titled “If You Listen, We Will Stay: Why Teachers of Color Leave and How to Disrupt Teacher Turnover,” surveys indicate that teachers would find more job satisfaction and stay in their roles longer if they had more pathways to leadership roles.

Fort Worth ISD’s next superintendent must see teacher leadership as a valuable pathway for student achievement. Although I do everything I can to help students such as those struggling with math, my efforts alone are not going to change the district. These students are caught in a system in which they fall behind early then struggle to catch up in the years that follow, but FWISD’s next superintendent could turn things around.

Recognition, financial incentives and a seat at the decision-making table for teacher leaders would go a long way to help FWISD keep, attract, and grow more highly effective teachers. More students will succeed when they have the teachers that they deserve.

This story was originally published November 23, 2024 at 5:28 AM.