{"id":613,"date":"2018-05-21T21:11:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-21T21:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/saving-schools\/?p=613"},"modified":"2018-05-28T00:34:24","modified_gmt":"2018-05-28T00:34:24","slug":"fort-worth-isd-banks-on-top-teachers-to-lift-at-risk-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/saving-schools\/2018\/05\/21\/fort-worth-isd-banks-on-top-teachers-to-lift-at-risk-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Worth ISD Banks On Top Teachers To Lift At-Risk Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opened in 2011 to relieve crowding at other nearby schools,\u00a0John T. White Elementary School\u00a0in Northeast Fort Worth has always been on the state\u2019s \u201cImprovement Required\u201d list<\/a>. With the hopes of turning things around, Fort Worth ISD this school year designated John T. White as one of five “leadership academies.” Officials say they’re already seeing positive improvements and hope the test scores back them up.<\/em><\/p>\n

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New distinction<\/h5>\n

The Fort Worth school district is pouring resources into five low-performing campuses, retooling them as leadership academies. The effort is supported by a $1 million contribution from the Richard Rainwater Charitable Foundation.<\/p>\n

The district hired new, highly-rated teachers and administrators, extended the school day and added after-school activities and tutoring. Students wear uniforms, funded by donations, and the schools serve students three meals a day.<\/p>\n

Officials chose four elementary schools \u2014\u00a0Mitchell Boulevard,\u00a0John T. White,\u00a0Como and\u00a0Logan \u2014\u00a0and Forest Oak Middle School for the program<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong>These campuses showed the least amount of progress in reading and earned the state\u2019s lowest accountability rating (“Improvement Required<\/span>“) for two or more consecutive years. John T. White has earned the lowest rating five years in a row.<\/p>\n

Read more on accountability in the series introduction<\/a> as well as our feature on Mitchell Boulevard<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Challenges at John T. White<\/h5>\n

Fort Worth ISD declined to let KERA report from inside John T. White for this series, saying administrators were focused on improvements at the school. However, the district did make officials available to talk with KERA about what’s going on.<\/p>\n

The young elementary school has faced many challenges \u2014 academic and otherwise.<\/p>\n

White has a high percentage of at-risk<\/span> students. That population skyrocketed from 26 percent in 2012-13 to 74 percent last school year.<\/p>\n

Since the school opened, it has had a high percentage of students who are considered economically disadvantaged <\/span>. Last year, it was almost 90 percent.<\/p>\n

The school has exceptionally low STAAR<\/span> test passing rates. Last school year, less than half of fifth-graders passed the math assessment, and 55 percent passed reading. For comparison, 87 percent of fifth-graders across the state passed math last year, and 82 percent passed reading.<\/p>\n

These factors contributed to White’s failing rating last year. Explore more data on John T. White<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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