Managers stress teacher trust as they revise draft of FWISD goals, limits on superintendent

Tennessee Walker heard the same worry again and again from Fort Worth ISD parents, students and other community members: The Texas appointees running the district don’t trust teachers.

Walker, a board of managers member, pushed to address that concern in a draft of limits designed to hold Superintendent Peter Licata accountable. The draft barred major curriculum changes without regular teacher feedback. 

When FWISD staff presented their revisions of that draft to the board, that language was gone. The administration’s edit: “The superintendent shall not allow ineffective instructional materials.”

During a more than two-hour discussion Tuesday night, managers rewrote the limits line by line ahead of the document’s expected adoption Nov. 10. They restored language from their Sept. 26 draft giving teachers a say in curriculum, but not the word Walker wanted most.

Walker tied the idea of trusting teachers to one word: autonomy. He said it covers many concerns such as scripted lessons, and he wanted it in the first limit on the superintendent.

“If we tweak it more, we’re punting on the No. 1 value that we heard from the community,” he said.

Managers drafted the superintendent limits and districtwide goals based on feedback from parents, students and other district residents. The goals and limits are part of a state-backed governance strategy that school districts across the state use, including elected FWISD trustees before the takeover.

Board President Pete Geren asked Walker what “autonomy” meant. The word could be misinterpreted without clarification, Geren said.

Walker characterized autonomy as giving teachers room to answer a student’s question or slow down for a kid who doesn’t understand a lesson, without sticking to the rigid pacing that teachers are required to follow.

AJ Crabill, the governance coach leading the discussion, said what Walker described was narrower than the word itself and that the limit should match. Manager Luis Galindo proposed swapping autonomy for “professional judgment.”

Vice President Courtney Lewis suggested a different route. She proposed keeping the first limit focused on curriculum and addressing teacher support in a separate one. Her version would require Licata to carry out a plan to recruit, retain and support teachers, including by giving them regular chances to weigh in on decisions affecting their classrooms.

As managers refined the limit, Licata looked down at his notes and filled his cheeks with air, then slowly exhaled.

Managers ultimately brought back their initial language that limits the superintendent from making significant curriculum and instructional changes without a teacher feedback process and supporting evidence. Lewis’ classroom language made it into another limit focused on teacher retention.

Crabill emphasized the process the managers are undergoing is normal. The board writes a draft. Staff revise. The board rewrites and sends revisions back.

Licata thanked the board for a collegial policy discussion. He also asked them to think about why each of the nine managers and himself are now leading FWISD.

“I do want to remind everyone that all 10 of us are here because there was not a consistent application of educational practices,” the superintendent said. 

Shelby Ryon, who participated in listening sessions, told managers before their discussion that the staff’s version measured teachers instead of measuring Licata’s performance.

“Protect the community’s voice, protect teachers and make sure these guardrails guard the superintendent,” Ryon said. “Because guardrails are supposed to check him, not the teachers.”

Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @_jacob_sanchez. 

Disclosure: FWISD manager Pete Geren leads the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. FWISD manager Laurie George is a member of the Report’s reader advisory council. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.