A new public charter school is in the works in Fort Worth under the initiative of IDEA Public Schools.
The new campus is slated to break ground next April, according to state filings. Designed by the Dallas-based architectural firm HKS Inc., it will stretch across over 81,000 square feet at 3621 NW Loop 820, near Jim Wright Freeway.
Once the new school, which is expected to cost around $23 million to build, opens its doors in late June 2025, it will offer prospective students a tuition-free education focused on achieving college readiness.
IDEA Public Schools has opened four locations in Fort Worth over the past five years, teaching approximately 4,000 students. According to its website, the national network of schools saw a 100% college acceptance rating among its 2023 graduates, with 1,584 out of 1,959 being the very first in their family to pursue higher education.
As covered by The Dallas Express, like many public school systems across North Texas, Fort Worth ISD has seen falling student enrollment numbers for the past few years. The district is currently spending $2 million on a facility capacity study to “rightsize” its campuses, which were built to accommodate a maximum of 90,000 students, to better suit what is expected to be a student body of around 55,000. It currently has 72,783 students enrolled across its 140 campuses.
Although there are many factors playing a role in this student enrollment drop, such as demographic shifts and high housing costs in attendance zones, districts like Fort Worth ISD and Dallas ISD are mostly seeing parents opt for education alternatives, such as private and charter schools.
Neither district has performed well in Texas Education Agency accountability reports in the past few years.
During the 2021-2022 school year, Fort Worth ISD saw just 32% of its students score at grade level on the STAAR exam, and its on-time graduation rate was 85.7%. Only 41% of students scored at grade level on the STAAR exam that same year at Dallas ISD, while almost 20% of the district’s graduating Class of 2022 did not graduate on time.