Fort Worth ISD, the second-largest school district in North Texas, secured a new superintendent on Tuesday after its Board of Education voted to approve a three-year contract with the lone finalist for the position, Angélica M. Ramsey.
Ramsey will be taking over for interim superintendent Karen Molinar, who herself took on the position when former superintendent Kent Scribner unexpectedly left the role in late August, two years earlier than expected.
While it is unclear why Scribner resigned, his leaving bookmarked a year of poor performance by Fort Worth ISD and other districts within the city limits, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Ramsey previously served as superintendent of Midland ISD, a tenure that a North Texas teachers union leader touted as a plus.
“Midland is a smaller district than Fort Worth, but it has similar demographics; it’s my hope she’ll be able to come into the district with the skillset to rally the community around our schools,” stated Steven Poole, executive director of the United Educators Association, speaking with NBC 5.
“I am excited to get started,” said Ramsey, per a district news release. “The work begins tomorrow, and the work starts by visiting schools and getting conversations started with educators and students to learn about what needs to get done to become an ‘A’ District.”
Ramsey was likely referring to the letter grades issued by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in its annual accountability rating report.
Fort Worth ISD received a “B” letter grade for the 2021-2022 school year. However, the district earned a “C” in student achievement.
Dallas ISD, the biggest school district in North Texas, is also struggling academically, with the TEA also giving it a “C” in student achievement.
Factored into the achievement ratings were the districts’ STAAR results, which signaled real trouble for both districts. Only 32% of Fort Worth ISD students scored “at grade level or above” on the exams during the 2021-2022 school year. Dallas ISD did not fare much better, with only 41% of its students “at grade level or above.”
The two districts also struggled to keep students on track for on-time high school graduation last school year. Nearly 20% of Dallas ISD’s graduating class of 2021 failed to get their diploma in four years. For its part, Fort Worth ISD saw over 14% of its students fail to graduate on time.
