{"id":730,"date":"2017-04-03T19:48:05","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T19:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/changing-face-schools\/?p=730"},"modified":"2017-04-04T00:02:15","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T00:02:15","slug":"new-principal-tries-to-change-perceptions-at-o-d-wyatt-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/changing-face-schools\/2017\/04\/03\/new-principal-tries-to-change-perceptions-at-o-d-wyatt-high\/","title":{"rendered":"New Principal Tries To Change Perceptions Of O.D. Wyatt High"},"content":{"rendered":"

O.D. Wyatt\u00a0\u2013 and the Fort Worth neighborhood around it \u2013 looks a lot different now than when the school opened in 1968. Back then, the\u00a0student population was mostly white. Today, it\u2019s more than 50 percent Hispanic, and there’s a growing refugee population. Academically, the school has struggled. A\u00a0new principal is trying to change students\u2019 perceptions of Wyatt.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Welcome Changes<\/h5>\n

Ninth grader Quinten Hutchinson has heard all the things people say about his school \u2013 O.D. Wyatt.<\/p>\n

\u201cThem kids up there is bad and loud,\u201d they say.<\/p>\n

He says that\u2019s not true.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s because the reputation that they\u2019ve had for so long and ’cause the school is kind of old and the stuff that used to happen,” he says. “So when people hear [O.D. Wyatt], I think they just automatically just think of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students walk to class under a ceiling lined with college banners in a hallway near the entrance of O. D. Wyatt High School. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n

The older kids at O.D. Wyatt talk about how this year is different, Quinten says.<\/p>\n

Part of the reason? The new principal, Mario Layne.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Mr. Layne came, he changed stuff,” Quinten says. “You can\u2019t be on phones no more, ’cause last year you could be on phones in the classroom. And we got to wear IDs — we got to keep them on. So yeah, it\u2019s changed, but it\u2019s changed in a good way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wyatt On The Move<\/h5>\n

When O.D. Wyatt opened in 1968, the school was predominately white. By 1994, 90 percent of students were African American. Today, it\u2019s more than half Hispanic. And about one in 10 kids are refugees from countries like Bhutan, Myanmar, Somalia and Nepal.<\/p>\n

Layne says the school used to attract students to its International Baccalaureate program. It\u2019s no longer there. The school was competitive in academics and athletics. And it\u2019s known for a vibrant choir program.<\/p>\n