Fort Worth ISD will close a second school starting with the 2024-2025 school year.
At a recent meeting of the board of trustees, Fort Worth ISD approved a contract to move students from the Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade to the Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade campus, according to the Fort Worth Report.
The move will cost $3.7 million and will be funded through the 2021 bond package, which is valued at $1.2 billion.
In a statement, the district told FWR that the budget would provide for “increase[d] capacity at Forest Oak to continue to serve students without interruption.”
The district initiated the closure in October 2023 by sending a request to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), reported FWR. TEA subsequently designated the Forest Oak Sixth Grade campus “obsolete” on October 20, 2023. As a result of the move, TEA classified the students at Forest Oak Sixth Grade campus as Forest Oak Middle School students despite their remaining at the Forest Oak Sixth Grade campus throughout the 2023-2024 school year.
In its statement to FWR, the district said that the campus was in its fourth year of failing to meet state requirements when the request was made. The school has not met state standards since the 2014-2015 school year when it was named Glencrest Sixth Grade School.
The recent decision comes several weeks after the district announced that Wedgwood Sixth Grade was closing its doors, consolidating into Wedgwood Middle School, due to low enrollment, as reported by The Dallas Express.
As extensively covered by The Dallas Express, nearby Dallas ISD has been struggling with student achievement.
For the 2021-22 school year, only 41% of Dallas ISD students scored at grade level or above, with 18% mastering and 67% approaching their grade level. Dallas ISD received a C rating, scoring a 78 for overall student achievement.
Fort Worth ISD is just one of many school districts nationwide facing decreasing enrollment, budget shortfalls, and low student performance, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
