Building the Future: 2009-2010 Annual Report

Building theFutureFort Worth Independent School dIStrIct 2009-2010 AnnuAl report

DISTRICT HIGHLIGHTS PAGE 10

FWISD FACE

BY THE NUMBER

BUILDING RIGORPAGE 24

ABOUT US PAGE 6

A LETTER FROM SUPERINTENDENT MELODY JOHNSON PAGE 8

BUILDING RELEVANCEPAGE 42

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPSPAGE 56

A CULTURE OF SERVICE & RESPONSIBILITYPAGE 74

LOOKING AHEADPAGE 96

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2009-2010 ANNUAL REPORT

[BTN#]

2009-2010 AnnuAl reportFort Worth Independent School dIStrIct

Our VisiOn

the Fort Worth independent School

district envisions a high performing

learning organization in which all

students achieve proficiency in

rigorous standards of intellectual

thought and knowledge.

Our MissiOn

the mission of the Fort Worth

independent School district is to

provide and support rigorous learning

opportunities that result in successful

completion of a quality high school

experience for all students.

Our ViSiOn, Our miSSiOn

Our gOalS GOal 1

Student Achievement

all students will learn at high levels

of academic expectations, and the

achievement gap will be eliminated.

GOal 2

Operational Efficiency and

Effectiveness

all operations in the district will be

efficient and effective.

GOal 3

Family Involvement & Community

Partnerships

Family involvement and community

partnerships will be an integral part

of the education of all children.

pAge 7About uS

neW BOard memBerS WelcOmed

FOrt WOrth iSdcaBinet

Top row: Carlos Vasquez, District 1; Christene

C. Moss, District 3; ann sutherland,

District 6; Tobi Jackson, District 2; norman

robbins, District 7; Judy G. needham,

District 5. Bottom row: Juan rangel, Vice

President, District 8; Melody a. Johnson,

superintendent; ray Dickerson, President;

T.a. sims, secretary, District 4.

in may, we welcomed two new

members to the Fort Worth iSd

Board of education: tobi Jackson,

representing district 2, and ann

Sutherland, representing district 6.

Kyle davie, chief technology

Officer; Walter dansby, deputy

Superintendent, capital improvement

Program; Barbara griffith, Senior

communications Officer;

hank Johnson, chief Financial Officer;

robert ray, chief of Schools;

Sylvia reyna, chief of administration;

michael Sorum, chief academic

Officer; cecelia Speer, chief of district

Operations; Bertha Whatley, chief

legal counsel


starts for elementary and middle

schools approved by you, the voters,

in the 2007 bond election. look for

interesting facts and figures about

our new “green” schools throughout

this report, plus photographs and

artist renderings.

We mean that in more ways than one

at the Fort Worth independent School

district. First, 2009-2010 was a year

of groundbreakings and construction

A Letter From

SuPerintendentmelOdy JOhnSOn

grab a hard hat. the building has begun.

pAge 9A letter From SuperIntendent melody JohnSon

six middle schools earned

a recognized rating.

Our foundation is a solid curriculum

- in place and readily available online

to every teacher. Our infrastructure

consists of vital people, programs and

services – anchored in departments

staffed with dedicated leaders.

now, we are building success as well

as the future of Fort Worth. in 2009-

2010, the gains were many, some of

them monumental. it is our pleasure

to share them with you in this report

and to give you a preview of the

exciting things to come in the next

school year.

We invite you to roll up your sleeves

and join us on our mission to build the

very best school district in the nation.

Visit us at www.fwisd.org and find

out how you can help our students

graduate – prepared for college,

trained for the workplace and eager

to contribute to our city, state and

great country.

With every good wish,

melody a. Johnson, Ph.d.

Superintendent

But what is really exciting is the

other kind of building that went on

inside our schools. While the dirt was

flying at construction sites, we were

building academic success. and we

were doing it by adhering to the new,

comprehensive “3 r’s” in education:

Rigor - Our curriculum is as tough as

you will find anywhere!

Relevance – We’ve moved from

a “mass production” education

model to a school experience

that links classroom learning to

real-life applications.

Relationships – Whether it was

teacher/student, teacher/staff,

teacher/parent or district/community

partnerships, our network of

relationships strongly impacted

student success. and in this time

of great challenges, especially the

ongoing inequities in the state’s

school funding system, our business

and higher education partnerships

proved more important

than ever.

indeed, achievement reached an

all-time high in our classrooms.

Students made unprecedented gains

in the 2010 taKS. and, for the first

time since taKS testing began, two

Fort Worth iSd high schools and


ScOring a FirSt

For the first time since taKS testing

began, two Fort Worth iSd high

schools – carter-riverside and trimble

tech – received a recognized rating.

Paschal met the academic standard for

recognized status but was given an

acceptable rating based solely on the

School completion rate.

Six middle schools also earned

recognized status: applied learning

academy, como montessori, riverside,

rosemont, rosemont 6th and W.c.

Stripling. the achievements are

particularly noteworthy because

of new changes that made the

recognized rating harder to attain.

among the 2010 taKS highlights:

• all student groups in grades 4 and

5 made gains in reading. all groups

in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade showed

significant mathematics gains.

• all groups of 8th graders scored

high (above 85 percent) in reading.

• all middle school grades made gains

in mathematics with 7th and 8th grade

african-american students showing

the most growth. all groups made

gains in Writing, Science and

Social Studies.

• among 11th graders, all student

groups performed at the exemplary

(90 percent or above) level or had

double-digit gains in math and

Science. all groups scored at

the recognized level (80 percent)

or higher in reading.

• gains by african-american and

hispanic students significantly

narrowed the achievement gap.

• at graduation, the number of

seniors eligible to cross the stage was

the highest it has been since taKS

testing began.

high Performing Schools:

Exemplary

• Benbrook eS

• Burton hill eS

• alice carlson applied

learning center

• daggett montessori

• clifford davis eS

• de Zavala eS

• charles e. nash eS

• riverside applied

learning center

• tanglewood eS

• Waverly Park eS

• Westcliff eS

• Westpark eS

Recognized

• carter-riverside hS

• green B. trimble technical hS

• applied learning academy

• J.P. elder mS

• riverside mS

• rosemont mS

pAge 11dIStrIct hIghlIghtS

nO SurPriSetO uS

diamond hill-Jarvis and Paschal are two of the best high schools in the country, according to newsweek. a total of 1,600 schools (six percent of high schools in the u.S.) made the

magazine’s annual list of “america’s Best high Schools.” Paschal placed 171st on the list. diamond hill-Jarvis came in at 275.

in september 2009,

students fell into formation

on the playground to

celebrate the 100th

anniversary of E.M. Daggett

Elementary school.

• rosemont 6th grade

• W.c. Stripling mS

• edward J. Briscoe eS

• carter Park eS

• george c. clarke eS

• lily B. clayton eS

• como montessori

• alice d. contreras eS

• e.m. daggett eS

• S.S. dillow eS

• east handley eS

• glen Park eS

• h.V. helbing eS

• milton l. Kirkpatrick eS

• meadowbrook eS

• rufino mendoza eS

• luella merrett eS

• north hi mount eS

• Oakhurst eS

• ridglea hills eS

• Sam rosen eS

• david K. Sellars eS

• Seminary hills Park eS

• Bruce Shulkey eS

• South hi mount

• South hills eS

• Springdale eS

• J.t. Stevens eS

• i.m. terrell eS

• richard J. Wilson eS

• Worth heights eS



carter-riverside high School rose

from academically acceptable to

recognized, the second-highest

rating by the state.

WhaT MaDE ThE

DiffErEnCE aT CarTEr-

riVErsiDE This yEar?

teamwork! the district provided great

initiatives, resources and guidance.

Our teachers and staff participated in

professional development, conducted

learning Walks® and analyzed data.

the community pitched in, too.

WErE ThErE any sPECial

PrOGraMs yOu anD yOur

TEaM iniTiaTED?

this year we implemented a special

time for students known as

“eagle time.” We gave them an hour

during the middle of the day to attend

tutorials and club meetings and build

relationships with staff and peers.

Students responded very favorably.

they would pick up lunch and take it

to the classrooms.

DO yOu haVE a

ParTiCular EDuCaTiOn

PhilOsOPhy?

Our motto is “no excuses, Just

results.” and, of course, i let everyone

know we are here for the students.

it is our obligation to prepare them

for success after high school.

they are at the forefront of every

instructional decision.

FWISD Face

maria SancheZprincipal, carter-riverside hS


SuPerintendent’S SchOlarShiPS gO tO three StandOutS

cOllege-BOund

three Fort Worth iSd seniors were

selected as the first recipients of

the new Superintendent’s Student

Scholarship fund. Superintendent

melody Johnson dedicated a portion

of her personal salary to establish

the fund. a committee of education

professionals reviewed the applications

and selected the finalists. dr. Johnson

awarded the scholarships to:

• yulic Barrientos – South hills hS

• Xavier O’neal harrison – O.d.

Wyatt hS

• Brianna myers – dunbar hS

each year, chesapeake energy, one

of the district’s top Project Prevail

partners, offers encouragement and

the necessary funds to help selected

students continue their education.

this year’s chesapeake Scholars were:

• angelle anderson, Southwest hS

– received $10,000 and will attend the

university of arkansas at Pine Bluff

• ryan edenfield, Southwest hS

– received $7,000 and will attend

union university

Originally, the scholarship fund

totaled $5,000. dr. Johnson was

so impressed with the winners that

she increased the fund to $13,000 to

give each student additional support.

• ryann harris, dunbar hS


texas christian university

• huong Phan, trimble tech hS


harvard university

• Brenda Salinas, north Side hS


texas Wesleyan university

• ramandeep Singh, trimble tech hS

– received $7,000 and will attend the

university of texas at arlington

[BTn] 1,361

scholarship offers to Fort Worth ISd students

total amount of scholarship offers

Approximately 62 percent of scholarship offers went to minority students compared to 46 percent one year ago.

[BTn] $40.6 million


recOgniZing achieVerS With SPecial needS

two Fort Worth iSd students were

selected to receive chris reuter

Scholarships. these scholarships

are awarded each year to students

with special needs for the purpose

of furthering their education

upon graduation.

this year’s recipients were:

• martin gonzalez, diamond hill–Jarvis hS

• luis Perez, north Side hS

each student will receive $300.

Both will attend tarrant county college.

Composer, producer and jazz

trumpeter freddie Jones

presented O.D. Wyatt junior

Tracy larkin with a gift the

band student will cherish

forever: a handcrafted

trumpet valued at $2,500.

Tracy is leader of the

Chaparral band’s trumpet

section and a member

of the Creative and

Performing arts academy.

fort Worth Mayor Mike

Moncrief and his wife, rosie,

joined Jones in presenting

the trumpet to Tracy.

3,549 students graduated

from fort Worth isD in 2010.


WinnerS all

[BTn] 688

students made Fort Worth ISd’s Athletics All-Academic team

[BTn] 3

students earned All-American status

>> All-American Swimmer – Julia Anderson, paschal hS>> All-American Sprinter – Ashley collier, dunbar hS>> All-American Football player – darius White, dunbar hS


the national interscholastic

Swimming coaches association/Kiefer

School team award recognized the

Paschal lady Panthers swim team

based on its average cumulative gPa.

the lady Panthers reached the gold

level with an overall gPa of 3.954, the

second highest in the nation.

two Fort Worth iSd students, carla

morales from trimble tech and Shanae

Sanchez of Paschal, became the first

girls in the district to qualify for the

state wrestling competition.

Other individuals qualifying for state:

sWiMMinG anD DiVinG

Julia anderson, Paschal hS

Savannah grant, Western hills hS

griffin neville, Paschal hS

WrEsTlinG

James anderson, Paschal hS

TraCk anD fiElD

mario Breeding, Polytechnic hS

ashley collier, dunbar hS

lygia Foreman, eastern hills hS

teams that qualified for state:

BaskETBall

arlington heights hS, Boys

dunbar hS, girls

GOlf

arlington heights hS, Boys

arlington heights hS, girls

TraCk anD fiElD

eastern hills hS, girls

BasEBall

arlington heights hS



ashley collier, all-american Sprinter,

leaves school with a trunk full of

medals. at the state track and field

meet her senior year, she finished

first in the 100-meter dash and

placed second in the 200-meter dash.

that gave her a total of four gold

medals, two silvers and one bronze.

ashley’s running times put her on

the national top 10 list of high school

girls’ performances in the 100 and

200-meter dashes. She will continue

her track career with the top-ranked

texas a&m lady aggies. as a send off,

fellow dunbar students voted ashley

“Best Female athlete.”

ashley’s winning streak extended to

the classroom. in 10th grade, she

was recognized as a radioShack

Scholar. She made the a/B honor

roll her freshman, sophomore

and senior years.

WhaT DO yOu lOVE aBOuT

runninG TraCk?

track teaches me every day that

working hard will get you where you

want to go. it’s very similar to school

work in that way.

WhaT ElsE has runninG

TraCk TauGhT yOu?

never give up. track is a mental and

physical sport. that day when you

want to give up because you’re tired,

that’s when you put your mind to it,

push yourself and work hard to get

through it.

hOW has yOur suCCEss in

TraCk CarriED OVEr inTO

OThEr arEas Of yOur

lifE?

i am more independent and stronger.

if i want something done, i know

i have to do the work myself and stick

with it.

haVE yOu sET any GOals

fOr COllEGE?

i want to be successful at texas a&m

in every way. i want to make it to the

nationals each year and i want to do

well in all my classes.

FWISD Face

aShley cOllierdunbar high School


insTruMEnTal MusiC

• Southwest hS advanced to state in

the uil marching contest

• Seven middle school and high

school orchestras were awarded

Sweepstakes at the uil Orchestra

concert & Sight- reading contest

• 275 students from Fort Worth,

dallas, grand Prairie and San antonio

attended the district’s first mariachi

conference Workshop & Festival

if you think the fine arts have

disappeared from public schools,

just take a look at Fort Worth iSd

– on stage, in concert and on canvas.

ChOral anD GEnEral

MusiC

• 102 students – a record number

– made the uil Solo & ensemble

state finals

• the high School honor choir

performed mozart’s coronation mass

with the youth Orchestra of greater

Fort Worth

• choirs from arlington heights,

dunbar, Paschal, Southwest, Western

hills and O.d. Wyatt high schools were

featured in the PBS special

“celebrate america”

• three students made all-State choir:

aaron casey, eastern hills hS, James

lockhart, Western hills hS and emily

Wagman, Paschal hS

• 5,500 4th grade students performed

with the Fort Worth Symphony at the

community linkuP! concerts

• the district formed a new

elementary choral Festival

high nOteS, claSS actS & Original art


ThEaTEr

• arlington heights, Paschal and

trimble tech advanced to uil

area competition in the One act

Play category

• nine students were named to the

area all-Star, honorable mention and

technical awards for casts and crews

• in a collaboration with Jubilee

theatre, 100 students from 11 schools

took part in a production of “the Wiz”

• Students from 30 schools

collaborated with Stage West theatre

to write a script, produce and perform

the work

Photo courtesy of the Fort Worth Star-telegram

• Students earned internships with

professional theater companies in

Fort Worth and dallas

arT

• Student art was exhibited around

town, including 4,000 works at Fort

Worth Public libraries

• at the main Street art Festival,

students earned more than $5,000

selling their own art; they were also

given $8,000 to buy art for

a traveling exhibition

• Students received top honors at the

mayfest art Show

• more than 3,000 parents and other

supporters attended the elementary

art Show

• two students won awards at the

youth art month state competition

• 11 students advanced to the state

level and took four medals at the

Visual arts Scholastic event


if north side hs art

students need any

inspiration, they can simply

pick up one of several used

paintbrushes they received

in the mail. The brushes

belonged to world-renowned

artist susan rothenberg.

The students sent

rothenberg a small book of

their own art after seeing

her work at the Modern

art Museum of fort Worth.

They enclosed $20.00 and

a note asking for some of

the artist’s old brushes.

rothenberg sent the

brushes and returned the

money, suggesting students

spend it on a pizza party.

They did.

haVe yOu lOgged On tO uS lately

www.fwisd.org won “Best of” in the category of websites at the texas School Public relations association awards. and the “hits” just keep on coming. the district website received approximately 21 million pageviews during the school year.

Georgi Roberts, Fort Worth ISD Director of Health and

Physical Education – named Channing Mann Physical

Education Administrator of the Year by the National

Association for Sport and Physical Education

Paving the Way –

GEoRGI RobERtS


hyBridS hit the rOad

When it came time to buy new buses, Fort Worth iSd went hybrid. in april 2010, we unveiled what will be the largest fleet of diesel-electric hybrid school buses in the united States. School children dressed in green helped welcome the first of the 25 new buses at an earth day event at Versia Williams eS.

“these hybrid buses take our ‘go green, Save green’ campaign to a new level,” said Superintendent melody Johnson.

a group of 2nd graders performed an eco-friendly rendition of “the Wheels on the Bus.” Special education teacher misty collier supplied the revised lyrics:

“the engine on the bus goes green green green green green green green green green.

the engine on the busgoes green green green all through the town!”

the remainder of the fleet will roll into the bus yard over the next several months.

Building rigOrhazEl harVEy PEaCE ElEMEnTary sChOOl

lOCaTiOn: 7555 trail lake drive

squarE fEET: 75,000

CaPaCiTy: 650 students

COnsTruCTiOn BuDGET: $11,151,500

COMPlETiOn: Summer 2010

buIldIng rIgor pAge 25


a tOOl FOr imPrOVing inStructiOn

Way tO WalK

2009-2010 was the pilot year of

curriculum Based assessments

(cBas) in the Fort Worth iSd.

cBas are a measurement tool

designed to monitor students’

progress and help improve

instruction. cBas serve as interim

checks so that teachers and

administrators can determine in

a timely manner whether any changes

are needed in instruction

or curriculum.

the learning Walk® is a tool for just

that – learning. and in 2009-2010,

Fort Worth iSd re-emphasized the

learning Walk® to improve student

learning and to help teachers and

administrators learn and grow

as professionals.

each walk consists of small teams of

teachers and/or administrators who

periodically walk through a school’s

halls and visit classrooms.

the primary goal is to look for

evidence of successful instructional

strategies. learning Walks® offer

teachers the opportunity to give

When it came time to create a test

bank of cBa questions, the district

listened to its teachers. they provided

input that helped in the writing of

valid and reliable test items.

and several months later, we listened

to our teachers again. the district’s

chief academic Officer, michael

Sorum, asked teachers for their

feedback, which they shared in

a roundtable discussion.

and receive feedback. the walks

fuel a variety of decisions about

professional development, including

whether more training would be

beneficial and if additional resources

are needed for a particular classroom

or school.


managing data FOr maXimum imPact

in august 2009, Fort Worth iSd

launched data coaching, a project to

put data to work for the benefit of our

students. With advancing technology,

the district has access to increasingly

sophisticated data that, when

properly understood and managed,

leads to more personalized teaching

and learning.

effective data management:

• allows for timely interventions

when students are struggling

• leads to flexible instruction

strategies that target multiple

abilities and learning styles

• helps teachers share best practices

with their colleagues

• allows students to participate in

tracking their own performance

• Builds rigor and relevance

all principals and central

administrators participated in the

data coaching project. time was

devoted at each month’s principals

meeting to reinforce and reflect

on best practices. Principals also

engaged their campus data teams and

staff in discussions and activities to

increase understanding of data and

expand its uses at all levels.


mOre acceSS tO aP

PeaK POWer

the new advanced college

coursework encouraging Scholarship

and Success (acceSS) project

helped the district open the world

of advanced Placement to more

students. acceSS is designed to

recruit new students into aP courses,

ensure that aP courses are offered at

all schools and increase the success

rate of all students on aP exams.

the project includes Summer Scholars

academies for rising 7th – 11th

graders, aP chinese and/or Japanese

courses, aP nights at every high

school and intensive teacher

training opportunities.

in the first year of acceSS at Fort

Worth iSd, 190 high school and middle

school students attended the Scholars

academies; more than 200 teachers

attended 30 hours of Pre-aP, content-

specific training; and we increased

the role of our 25 middle school gifted

and talented coordinators to align

Pre-aP curriculum in their pyramids.

many good things – especially

measurable growth – took place at our

Public educators accelerating Kids

(PeaK) pilot schools. the majority of

PeaK schools made significant gains

in math and Science on the 2010 taKS.

and the PeaK initiative, designed to

financially reward teams of teachers

who accelerate student achievement,

delivered as promised.

OThEr PEak hiGhliGhTs:

• Kirkpatrick mS was one of five

middle schools from across the

country chosen to participate in the

annual model Schools conference in

Orlando, Florida. the international

center for leadership in education,

which hosted the conference, picked

schools based on their performance

and level of rigor.

[BTn] 3,212

students took a total of 5,854 Ap exams

[BTn] 71

students recognized by the national merit Scholarship corporation


• PeaK teachers stayed put.

their retention rate was higher

than the district’s overall rate.

• Our PeaK program received

numerous accolades. it was

recognized at conferences including

the texas association of School

administrators, the district

awards for teacher excellence, the

texas association of School Boards

and the Southwest educational

development laboratory.

PEak PayOuTs:

2008-2009 rewards paid in October 2009

• nine of the 15 PeaK schools earned

the $2,000 campus bonus, meaning

they had statistically significant

growth on 50 percent or more of

their scorecard. all instructional staff

shared in this reward.

• 762 teachers – 82 percent – received

rewards totaling $2.4 million

• Overall, the average individual

bonus was $2,500

• Four high schools received the $250

aP bonus

• the maximum individual reward

was $12,785

• eight schools received content

Synergy Bonuses

• Four schools earned grade level

Synergy Bonuses

Our PEak sChOOls arE:

• diamond hill-Jarvis hS

• dunbar hS

• eastern hills hS

• Polytechnic hS

• South hills hS

• dunbar mS

• dunbar 6th

• handley mS

• Kirkpatrick mS

• meadowbrook mS

• como eS

• morningside eS

• Oaklawn eS

• Sunrise-mcmillian eS

• turner eS



WhaT DO yOu likE MOsT

aBOuT BEinG a PEak

TEaChEr?

PeaK encourages camaraderie.

there is a great support system in

our school and in the district to help

facilitate the learning goals of every

child on our campus.

yOu arE knOWn in

yOur sChOOl fOr

BuilDinG GOOD WOrkinG

rElaTiOnshiPs WiTh

sTuDEnTs, ParEnTs anD

sTaff. Why DO yOu PuT sO

MuCh EMPhasis On ThOsE

rElaTiOnshiPs?

For me, education is all about the

relationships. Building a relationship

with each student and their parents

allows me to have better classroom

management and teach a very diverse

group of learners. they are motivated

and engaged. When i take the time

to develop positive relationships,

my students improve academically,

behaviorally and emotionally.

WhaT kinDs Of suPPOrT

haVE hElPED yOu MOsT?

a key area of support has been

the timely nature of data reports.

i love them. they help me pinpoint

strengths and weaknesses for each

child, so that i can better meet their

educational needs. and there’s

the camaraderie i mentioned.

anytime i am struggling with a lesson,

i can go to multiple colleagues for

new ideas and new ways to present

lesson content.

DO yOu haVE a

PhilOsOPhy yOu sharE

WiTh sTuDEnTs?

make mistakes and have a sense

of humor. “the man who makes no

mistakes does not usually make

anything.” Bishop W.c. mcgee

FWISD Face

Jamie mOrriSOn3rd grade teacher, como elementary


math PrOgramS add uP tO SucceSS

Fort Worth iSd was recognized in

elementary mathematics on the

2010 taKS. rigorous programs

challenged all students in meaningful,

personalized and effective ways.

ElEMEnTary

aChiEVEMEnTs

• 2009-2010 was the second year of

enVision math in the district.

the program’s synchronized digital

and print resources helped all grade

levels and all academic groups

achieve gains.

• each campus held a camp analytical

for grades 3-5. many campuses

developed camps for primary grades.

• every school sent a team to

the elementary Problem Solving

competition. more than 300 children

put their math skills to the test in

hours of fun, challenging events.

• rotating review lessons were

written for 5th graders and

taught during two-day math camps.

lessons were also written for 3rd

and 4th graders and taught at “mini-

camps” prior to taKS.

• new, rigorous curriculum was

written for all summer school courses.

• the district selected five schools for

extended day intervention,

a comprehensive after school math

program for targeted students.

sECOnDary aChiEVEMEnTs

• more than 150 middle school

students were selected to

participatein the second

annual middle School Problem

Solving competition.

• the district provided transportation

for middle school students and their

parents to the Will rogers memorial

center for rigorous fun at the math

and Science Fall Festival. more than

4,500 students competed in math and

science games and viewed up

close a variety of snakes, lizards

and spiders.

• math teachers worked with career

and technical education teachers to

develop “math rich” lessons.

they bridged industry terms and math

vocabulary to help students achieve.


Science at Fort Worth iSd scored

some of the biggest gains in the

department’s history. it was hands-on,

rigorous and real-world teaching all

the way!

• Paschal hS won the department of

energy State Science Bowl.

• two mclean 6th students, cainin

dorsey and emily yurk, advanced to

the State Science Fair.

• Paschal’s david Vreeland won First

Place in the regional Science Fair in

Physics and chemistry and went on to

compete at state.

• two entries from the applied

learning academy won recognition

at science fairs. lisa Kang’s project

on car emissions scored a perfect

“100” from Waco’s environmental

Science judge. William davis placed

third at the regional Science Fair with

his recycling project and went on to

compete at state.

• Students entered approximately

2,000 projects in the Fort Worth iSd

middle School independent

research Fair.

• 4,500 students conducted field

investigations at the Fort Worth

Botanic gardens. the 6th graders

recorded data on water quality, tree

identification, decomposition and

native and non-native plant species.

Science rOcKS • more than 5,000 students

attended ymca camp carter. the 5th

graders studied cretaceous fossils,

adaptations of aquatic insects,

temperature changes, decomposition

and soil layers.

aT ThE DisTriCT’s

OuTDOOr lEarninG

CEnTEr:

• an estimated 6,000 students

visited during the year. more than 100

teachers participated in professional

development learning about

environmental field investigations and

watershed studies.

• Participation in field studies

increased with 7th grade

investigations focusing on man’s

impact on the land, succession,

watershed studies and soil testing.

• JrOtc students took part in

survival training.

• 3rd and 4th graders attended

writing camps where they created

fiction narratives from their

field experiences.

• texas Wesleyan university’s

teacher Quality grant participants

spent two weeks in the summer

conducting science experiments and

environmental inventories.


reading ScOreS riSe

eXemPlary eFFOrt

across the board, students’ reading

scores increased on the 2010 taKS.

• First administration taKS scores for

5th graders increased by five percent

from 2009.

• in middle school reading, all groups

were designated as exemplary.

• in high school english language

arts, all groups scored at the

recognized level.

among other literacy

department achievements:

• elementary literacy developed

and hosted six Saturday literacy

academies for teacher

professional development.

• Secondary literacy fully

implemented the novel initiative,

selecting four core novels for grades

6–12. Studying core novels

established a base of study for

a seamless curriculum from grade

level to grade level. the novel units

were a collaborative effort among

the departments of english

language arts/reading, Social

Studies, advanced academics and

Bilingual/eSl.

2010 taKS scores for Social Studies

in the Fort Worth iSd were exemplary

across the board. the Social Studies

department also reported:

• increased commended scores

for students

• achievement gains for limited

english Proficiency, Special

education and economically

disadvantaged students

• closing of the achievement gap in

all test grades.

Other department highlights included

a “Best of region” medal won by

three leonard mS students at the

texas State history competition.

Bridget glass, erica Johnson and Kayla

turner dedicated their state award to

the memory of their best friend and

leonard classmate, chloe lindsey,

who passed away in the fall of 2009.


the district’s health and Physical

education department never sits

still. in 2009-2010, the department

established a local Wellness

coordinator Program at elementary

campuses to provide students

with tools for lifetime wellness.

campus coordinators monitored the

implementation of health and P.e.

instruction, identified problem areas

and coordinated wellness events

involving students, parents, school

staff and community members.

the pilot year was so successful

that the district plans to expand the

program to middle schools.

One of the coordinator Program’s

wellness campaigns, “Be hydrated,”

encouraged kids to drink more water.

Students at all elementary schools

kept a daily record of how much water

they drank. they were then entered in

a drawing for water bottles.

the health and P.e. department also:

• received a grant to certify selected

high school P.e. teachers in archery

instruction and purchase appropriate

equipment for each qualifying school

• Offered a Walking School Bus!

a collaboration with the texas

agrilife extension Service, the

Walking School Bus took place six

times during the spring at South

hi mount eS. more than 100

students, parents and family

members participated in the walk.

Students learned lessons about

pedestrian safety and energy

conservation, and everyone received

a healthy dose of physical activity.

• hosted the 5th annual district Walk

at all 13 high school tracks. a total of

873 people participated. there were

224 walkers at O.d. Wyatt hS alone.

P.e. With a PurPOSe


did you know Fort Worth iSd offers

instruction in nine languages?

Students can take their pick from

chinese, german, French, italian,

Japanese, latin, russian, Spanish and

american Sign language.

among the World language

department’s achievements for

2009-2010:

the language OF learning

• Spanish immersion opened its doors

at Burton hill eS and morningside eS

for incoming kindergarten and 1st

grade students.

• Paschal hS junior Sai gourisankar

was one of 12 students from across

the nation selected to participate in

the internationale deutscholympiade.

the national Preliminary round uSa

will be held in november in chicago.

• William James mS latin students

participated in the Junior classical

league State convention in austin.

Out of 2,000 participants, our

students came in 8th in academics.

William James students angel

castrellon, max murray and Sarika

Sabnis each won first place awards.


Fort Worth iSd students with special

needs also made unprecedented gains

on the 2010 taKS. Some grade levels,

such as 4th and 7th grades, had

double-digit gains in all tested areas.

Overall gains in science and social

studies were also significant.

Funding from the american recovery

and reinvestment act allowed the

district to purchase:

SerVing all StudentS

Our SchOOlS

• three new buses for students with

special needs

• actiVote and activexpression

student response systems to be

used with interactive whiteboards to

support children with special needs in

all general education classes

• lifts for self-contained classes to

help teachers lift children who cannot

move themselves

[80]ELEMENTARY

[21]ALTERNATIVE

[13]HIGH SCHOOL

[24]MIDDLE

[37]SCHOOLS RATED

RECOGNIZED

TEA CAMPUS RATINGS

ACCREDITATION

[62]SCHOOLS RATED

ACCEPTABLE

[13]SCHOOLS RATED

EXEMPLARY

DISTRICT TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY

HIGH SCHOOLS SOUTHERN ASSOC. OF COLLEGES & SCHOOLS



For the third year, our students

with special needs enjoyed inclusive

education, which means full access

to the general education curriculum

with appropriate accommodations.

the district’s Special education

department sponsored “celebrating

Our Students’ abilities.” it was an

event to foster awareness and

encourage parents and others to get

involved in special needs education.

Why is inClusiVE

EDuCaTiOn iMPOrTanT?

the student configuration in our

classrooms should reflect the society

in which we live. We live in a diverse

world which is enriched by the

contributions of different individuals,

all gifted in their own unique way.

inclusive education prepares students

with special needs to be competitive

in our global society and teaches us

to embrace diversity and differences.

frOM yOur ExPEriEnCE,

hOW has inClusiVE

EDuCaTiOn BEnEfiTED

fOrT WOrTh isD sTuDEnTs

WiTh sPECial nEEDs?

as evidenced by the unprecedented

academic gains achieved by students

with special needs in all tested areas,

inclusive education in the Fort Worth

iSd has been instrumental in setting

and maintaining high expectations

for all students, including students

with special needs. historically, these

students were not instructed in

a rigorous and coherent curriculum,

and disabilities were considered

a “deficit” for the students. in our

district, inclusive education has

brought a positive change to

this mentality.

WhaT WOulD yOu likE

EVEryOnE TO knOW

aBOuT ThE EDuCaTiOn Of

sTuDEnTs WiTh sPECial

nEEDs?

Students with special needs have

a right to the best possible education

in the 21st century. Some of the most

gifted, interesting and engaging

people i have met are individuals

with special needs. We focus on their

abilities, and we have many educators

who truly make a difference in their

lives and mine. they indeed are

the magic!

FWISD Face

mariagraZia SheFField, Ph.d.executive director, Special education


neW leSSOnS FOr early learnerS

Fort Worth iSd’s youngest

students were the beneficiaries of

a multi-million dollar grant: the

Pre-kindergarten early Start grant,

an award of $4,238,100. Our district

was the only large urban district to

receive this grant.

With the help of the grant, an

integrated Pre-K curriculum

Framework was successfully

implemented in all Pre-K

classrooms. it contains all the core

curriculum - literacy, math, science

and social studies.

among other achievements during

the school year:

• all Pre-K teachers completed 40

hours of ecircle classes designed to

help them prepare children

for kindergarten.

• Pre-K teachers on all campuses

received mentoring each month.

• the texas State center for early

childhood development praised Fort

Worth iSd’s satellite centers,

a collaborative effort with head

Start, the ymca and the yWca.

in its newsletter, the state center

recognized the satellite centers

for achieving title i status and for

expanding programs to increase

school readiness for at-risk children.

Courtney Sawyer, J.t. Stevens Elementary Pre-K teacher

– named 2010 Fort Worth ISD Elementary teacher of the Year

Jolene Webster, Paschal High School director of choral music

– named 2010 Fort Worth ISD Secondary teacher of the Year

Each teacher received a generous prize package from Sewell

Lexus of Fort Worth that included the use of a Lexus during

the summer, dinner at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House,

tickets to a texas Rangers game and a night’s stay at the

Worthington Renaissance Hotel!

Paving the Way –

tEACHERS oF tHE YEAR


a leSSOn SaVeS a liFe

lori roque is thankful she did not go

easy on her students at Southwest

high School – especially since an

assignment and a student’s

thorough work may have saved

the life of ms. roque’s 14-year-old

daughter, hope.

“i had given my honors Biology

students a research assignment on

a disease that effects multiple organ

systems,” said ms. roque. “So the

kids wouldn’t procrastinate over the

holidays, i made them submit an

outline or summary of their research

by Friday, december 18.”

Johnny trinh summarized his research

on type 1 diabetes. the following

Sunday, ms. roque was reading

Johnny’s paper, which described the

same symptoms her daughter was

experiencing. ms. roque read it to her

husband and they decided to take

hope to the doctor.

“at the doctor’s office, i told them

that i wanted to have her tested

for diabetes. the doctor did some

tests and told us to take her to the

cook children’s hospital emergency

room right away. my daughter had

type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, and it was

approaching a life-threatening stage.”

hope remained in the hospital until

christmas day. Because her body had

stopped producing insulin, she was

“metabolically starving to death.”

“the doctor told me i owed

a consultation fee to the student who

wrote the project outline i had read.

Jokingly, i agreed and he said,

‘no, really. this was very serious.’”

hope now regulates her diabetes

with supplemental insulin. “While the

diagnosis was not good news, i realize

that without it we might not have

realized what was going on until it

was too late,” said ms. roque. “i thank

god that the student turned in his

assignment on time!”

Building releVanceBEnBrOOk MiDDlE sChOOl

lOCaTiOn: 201 Overcrest drive, Benbrook

squarE fEET: 175,600

CaPaCiTy: 1,200 students



buIldIng relevAnce pAge 43


in december, the district’s division of

technology completed the installment

of 5,000 Promethean interactive

Whiteboards. it is believed to be

Promethean’s largest installation in

the nation. the interactive boards are

in every classroom and every

teacher is trained to use them.

they are the most exciting teaching

tool in decades - providing internet

access and allowing teachers to

download endless supplies of lessons

that engage students with vivid

images, video and audio.

100% interactiVe

the district completed the installation

18 months ahead of schedule and

trained approximately 6,500 teachers,

administrators, librarians and others

to use the boards. By the end of 2009-

2010, almost every teacher had taken

at least one follow-up training course.

implementing the whiteboards was

truly a collaborative effort involving

educational technology, maintenance

and Operations, leadership

departments, campus administrators

and the capital improvement Program.

But the biggest thank you goes to our

teachers for their can-do spirit when

it comes to learning better ways of

delivering lessons!


“i collected my own dna!”

“We did a forensic test and found

blood on clothing!”

“i actually saw what a smoker’s heart

looks like!”

these are not the typical “how i spent

my summer vacation” comments.

But for the 74 kids who attended texas

academy of Biomedical Sciences Prep

(taBS Prep) Summer camp 2010, each

day offered thrilling discoveries – all

related to the health sciences.

the camp at the university of north

texas health Science center in Fort

Worth is a requirement for students

entering taBS Prep in the fall.

camP cOOl led by university professors and

graduate students, the incoming 8th

graders attended four exciting week-

long sessions:

• anatomy lab and Simulation lab

• Fort Worth museum of Science and

history Paleontology Program

• Science Sleuth Program

• introduction to Biomedical Sciences

“i cannot say enough about what

an amazing opportunity this is for

kids,” said terri mossige, taBS Prep

principal. “World-renowned

professors and paleontologists lead

these hands-on, rigorous lessons.

So students are also building

important relationships – getting to

know each other in preparation for

going into their taBS Prep cohort

and building a relationship with the

university of north texas.”

another “Wow!” moment came at

the end of the four weeks when the

students received their very own

white lab coats. these coats will be

theirs to wear proudly when they

enter taBS Prep.


more than 20 Special interest

Programs (SiPs) engaged district

students in 2009-2010. SiPs are in

elementary, middle and high schools.

they adhere to a rigorous curriculum

while allowing students to experience

various fields – everything from law,

to finance, to photography to the

medical profession.

at Southwest hS, 75 students

participated in the media tech

program alone, the largest group to

date. they earned bragging rights at

the SkillsuSa State contest.

in the Broadcast news Production

technical test, Southwest swept 1st,

2nd and 3rd place. the winners were:

cOnnecting tO StudentS’ intereStS

• 1st place – alyssa Vela, sophomore

• 2nd place – alex traxinger, junior

• 3rd place – Joey mcreynolds,

sophomore

Senior coventry dittmann placed

1st in Job Skills demonstration to

advance to the national competition.

Senior Jo-X cruz placed 1st in the

texas Only t-Shirt design

contest. her design will be worn

at the nationals by all of the

texas delegates.

at the elementary and middle school

level, SiP schools continued to make

taKS strides. alice carlson applied

learning center, daggett montessori

and riverside applied learning

center were rated exemplary.

applied learning academy, J.P. elder

mS and como montessori earned

recognized status.


three Fort Worth iSd schools became

international Baccalaureate (iB) World

Schools: leonard 6th, leonard mS and

Western hills hS. the schools joined

3,000 other schools in 138 countries

offering an iB education. Western

hills is one of fewer than 200 schools

world-wide offering both the middle

years and diploma Programmes.

Fort Worth iSd opened the doors to

Spanish immersion – and a wonderful

learning opportunity – to

kindergarten and 1st grade

students at Burton hill eS and

morningside eS. the curriculum was

taught in Spanish 90 percent of the

school day. What a successful first

year it was! here are just a few of the

many highlights:

• Student attendance was

consistently high as was participation

in extracurricular activities.

• Students’ scores showed academic

and linguistic success both on

standard exams and the district’s own

curriculum Based assessments.

• e-mails, phone calls and other

taKing the WOrld VieW

dual language Fluency StartS here

the iB middle years Programme is

designed for 11 to 16-year-olds.

it provides academic challenges that

lead students to make connections

between traditional school subjects

and the real world and become

critical, reflective thinkers.

the iB diploma Programme builds on

the middle years program, further

preparing students for life success.

messages from parents expressed

enthusiasm about their children’s

fluency in Spanish and

acquired vocabulary.

• the retention rate of students in the

program is 99 percent for the 2010-

2011 school year, and there is a waiting

list for both campuses!

“Since our Board of education waived

tuition for out-of-district residents,

people are coming in from all over to

get their students in our wonderful

Spanish immersion academy,” said

carrie harrington, director of the

World languages department. in 2010-

2011, the program expands to include

2nd grade at Burton hill

and morningside.



nikki roblow transferred her son

Jackson from another district to

enroll him in the Spanish immersion

academy at morningside eS. She says

it is one of the best things she has

done for him.

Why Was iT sO iMPOrTanT

TO GET yOur sOn in ThE

sPanish iMMErsiOn

aCaDEMy?

i wanted to expose him to things i did

not have the opportunity to try when

i was growing up, especially learning

another language. i was having

a hard time locating any programs.

then i learned the Board of education

approved Spanish immersion.

after researching all the benefits in

addition to being bilingual, i was sold.

WhaT arE sOME Of ThE

ExTra BEnEfiTs?

mastering something new gives

children confidence for life-long

learning. also, it’s a fun way to

expose them to another culture.

learning another language is the

gateway to meeting new people and

experiencing new things.

sOME MiGhT Think a

“90 PErCEnT sPanish”

ClassrOOM WOulD

BE OVErWhElMinG Or

inTiMiDaTinG.

i was not concerned about that

because i know children, when

provided the right tools and teachers,

can learn just about anything.

and i was impressed with the

amount of research the school

administrators did before deciding

to bring the program to the district.

consequently, Jackson adapted very

quickly. he’s reading, writing and

speaking Spanish after just one year!

haVE ThErE BEEn any

surPrisEs in JaCksOn’s

lEarninG ExPEriEnCE?

i am surprised at the improvement in

his ability to read Spanish and english.

But, as it was explained to me when

Jackson started the program, “it’s

all phonics!” that was a light bulb

moment for me.

FWISD Face

niKKi rOBlOWSpanish Immersion parent, morningside eS


it was another year to celebrate

the spirit and drive of students

in advancement Via individual

determination (aVid). this outstanding

program targets those students who

are in the middle of their class - not

at the top and not at the bottom.

aVid provides them with rigorous

curriculum and the right teachers and

mentors to inspire them to succeed in

colleges and universities.

aVid students are often the first in

their families to attend college.

Fort Worth iSd has adopted aVid in 12

high schools and 16 middle schools.

in the 2009-2010 school year, 2,836

students were enrolled in

the program.

aVid students:

• enroll in their school’s toughest

classes, such as aP

more district students than ever

achieved with the help of the web-

based renzulli learning System.

With the click of a mouse, students

accessed rich and complex resources

tailored to their ability, interests and

learning styles.

aVid-ly engaged

high-tech, tailOr-made learning

• develop critical thinking skills

• Participate in motivational activities

• learn all about choosing a college

or university and what it takes to

be accepted

the district will expand aVid to two

more schools in 2010-2011: the young

Women’s leadership academy and

texas academy of Biomedical

Sciences Prep.

renzulli learning is integrated into

the district’s curriculum Frameworks

as a resource for students in the

high academic, Pre-aP and aVid

programs. in 2009-2010, more than

2,000 teachers and 11,700 students

registered to use the renzulli lesson

plans, projects and assignments.


imagine looking for a job and finding

more than 370 potential employers

all in one spot ready and waiting

to interview you. more than 500

Fort Worth iSd seniors and recent

graduates had that good fortune at

the district’s 17th annual hiring Fair,

hosted by the career and technical

education (cte) department.

all employers of students are

encouraged to adopt the Fort

Worth iSd Project Prevail student

employment rules. these guidelines

are geared toward school completion

and include rules such as making

school attendance a condition of

employment, limiting student work

hours and providing incentives for

school achievement.

cte offers more than 50 courses

of study, including everything from

educated, eager and emPlOyaBle

agriculture to criminal justice to

graphic arts. every Fort Worth iSd

high school and middle school have

at least four cte program and are

continually expanding their offerings.

in 2009-2010:

• new computers and software were

added to all 13 high schools and were

ordered for the middle schools

• a new auto tech shop opened at

O.d. Wyatt hS

• arlington heights hS expanded its

agricultural Program

• Plans got underway for building an

addition to the ag barn

• all five national automotive

technicians education Foundation

auto tech programs were recertified

• trimble tech’s graphic

communications and desktop

Publishing programs sent 17 students

to the SkillsuSa State contest: Samuel

renteria won a 1st place gold medal

while nancy diaz and eddie rojas took

2nd place silver medals

in 2010-2011:

• Western hills hS will expand its cte

offerings to include civil engineering

and architecture

• a new cte curriculum will

be implemented


“action-packed algebra” is not an

oxymoron. Welcome to dimensionm,

the game-based technology

immersing Fort Worth iSd students

in virtual worlds embedded with

rigorous algebra lessons. the program

is winning over teachers, too. in 2008,

the mathematics department put

dimensionm in four high schools as

a supplement to algebra i curriculum.

after positive reviews, the district

expanded the program to two more

high schools in 2009. two middle

schools also purchased the product.

look out, drake! Some students at

maude i. logan eS are rocking

a “mean” version of one of your big

hits. it was the brainstorm of 5th

grade math teacher thomas mayfield,

maude i. logan’s 2009-2010 teacher

of the year. he took the song, “Over,”

rewrote the lyrics as a math lesson,

and soon had kids rapping about

mean, median, mode and range.

here’s a sampling:

“So he walked to the chalkboard

Wrote some numbers down

gamerS really get thiS math leSSOn

math raP

dimensionm offers a storyline, 3-d

graphics and sound as students work

their way to new levels.

the multiplayer program allows

students to collaborate and compete

with other kids anywhere in the world.

teachers say dimensionm makes

algebra easier to understand and puts

it in a format that engages students

who might otherwise be hard to reach.

WFaa-tV told the story of one such

Fort Worth iSd student who brought

his failing math grade up to a 95.

added all his numbers

then he wrote the sum down.”

Students performed the song at Fort

Worth iSd teacher convocation in

august 2010. meanwhile, mayfield put

to music other concepts and lessons,

including perimeter, divisibility rules,

math transformations and

reducing fractions.

mayfield is a musician himself. he was

a member of the texas Boys choir and

made the all-State choir two years in

a row at dunbar hS.


ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED 57,186

CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION 11,768

SPECIAL EDUCATION 6,041

GIFTED & TALENTED 7,521

[25.1%]AFRICAN

AMERICAN

[1.6%]ASIAN/PACIFIC

ISLANDER

[59.6%]HISPANIC

[13%]WHITE/ANGLO

[.3%]NATIVE

AMERICAN

ETHNIC DISTRIBUTION

NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN

TOTAL ENROLLMENT 79,114

BILINGUAL/ESL 22,965

LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY 23,541

Julie Mullender, J.t. Stevens Elementary

School counselor – named Elementary

Counselor of the Year by the North Central

texas Counseling Association

Paving the Way –

JuLIE MuLLENDER

The Counselors reinforcing

Excellence for students in

Texas award luncheon

at the Texas school

Counselor Conference in

Galveston honored the

Western hills high school

counseling staff.

OurStudentS



WhaT arE yOur TOP

rEsPOnsiBiliTiEs as

DirECTOr Of ElEMEnTary

sChOOl lEaDErshiP?

my most important job is to help my

principals be the best instructional

leaders they can be. We work side by

side to ensure that every teacher and

student is as successful as possible.

collaboration, problem solving and

progress monitoring are essential

in eliminating the achievement gap.

early data suggests our efforts are

paying off.

hOW DiD BEinG a

PrinCiPal PrEParE yOu

fOr ThE JOB?

Principals implement district

initiatives and our superintendent’s

priorities. We make sure teachers are

using the curriculum Frameworks,

analyzing data to inform instruction

and differentiating instruction for

our students. as a director this year,

i put all of my campus experience to

work, collaborated with my principals

and led professional development for

principals and teachers.

WhaT DO yOu likE MOsT

aBOuT yOur JOB OnE

yEar inTO iT?

the best part of my job is working with

our great principals. i have the unique

opportunity to work with schools and

see all the great things that happen.

i work with bright, innovative, hard

working leadership teams, learn from

them and then help implement best

practices at other schools.

that’s how we get to be great - by

pulling out what’s best at one campus

and plugging it in at many more.

FWISD Face

Jerry mOOre director, elementary School leadership

Building relatiOnShiPSJOhn T. WhiTE ElEMEnTary sChOOl

lOCaTiOn: John t. White road & Sandy lane

squarE fEET: 76,100




buIldIng relAtIonShIpS pAge 57


an effective and efficient school

district requires effective, efficient

communication – internally as well as

externally. in 2009-2010, Fort Worth

iSd took advantage of its latest

technological tools to communicate

with teachers and staff more

pertinently and personally.

MEssaGE frOM MElODy

For a second year, Superintendent

melody Johnson penned messages to

every member of the district family

twice a month and more often, if

moved to do so. the letters were

sent via e-mail directly to employees

and also prominently placed on the

district’s website. “message from

melody” allowed dr. Johnson to

talk about education and to

make sure our internal stakeholders

were “in the know.”

during 2009-2010, dr. Johnson’s

messages shared the district vision,

recognized teacher and student

success, explained policies

and reflected on life experiences

that offer lessons for all.

the messages generated thoughtful,

sincere feedback.

a cOmmitment tO cOmmunicatiOn

ChiEf’s COrnEr

robert ray, Fort Worth iSd chief of

Schools, used our website’s new Video

on demand feature to open another

channel of communication with

teachers. each month, he composed

chief’s corner, a message about

timely, vital topics. then, the

cameras rolled.

the district’s communications

department videotaped chief’s corner

and posted it along with a written

version on our website. this allowed

teachers to view “chief’s corner” at

their convenience and respond.

the district posted their feedback

in blog format. “as always, our

teachers’ commitment and

passion shined through,” ray said.

“they even responded to one

another’s comments, creating yet

another level of dialogue.”

topics addressed in 2009-2010

included “learning Walks®,” “teachers

as leaders,” and “career and college

readiness.” look for the latest

“chief’s corner” on the homepage at

www.fwisd.org. to view past messages,

click on Video on demand.


a COnVErsaTiOn WiTh

MiChaEl sOruM

it was teachers’ questions at

a communications council

meeting that led michael Sorum, the

district’s chief academic Officer, to

seek out a new format for direct,

two-way communication.

the questions focused on curriculum

Based assessments, a new tool

for measuring student progress.

the cBas, as they are called, had

encountered rough spots in the pilot

year and teachers had questions and

concerns. Sorum decided to hold

two roundtable discussions, one for

elementary teachers and one for

secondary. We videotaped both.

the discussions were called

“a conversation with michael Sorum.”

they were frank and thoughtful.

Participating teachers had canvassed

their colleagues before the talks

in order to put forth complete,

constructive comments. the videos

were posted on the district website

for teachers and the community to

see. Sorum also instructed the entire

curriculum & instruction department

to watch the videos and, based on the

teachers’ comments and suggestions,

find ways to improve the cBas.

the feedback from teachers was

immediate and positive. as a result,

roundtable talks on other important

topics are planned for next year.



WhaT DO yOu WanT

TEaChErs TO TakE aWay

frOM ChiEf’s COrnEr?

i want teachers to be conscious

of the tremendous influence

they have on our children and the

nation as a whole. Who among us

cannot remember a teacher who

positively or negatively impacted us?

an outstanding teacher is directly

related to a child’s readiness for

college, career and life. teachers help

shape dreams, self esteem, confidence

and a sense of belonging within

each student.

WhaT has BEEn ThE

rEsPOnsE sO far TO

ChiEf’s COrnEr?

the response has been

overwhelmingly positive.

most appreciate the messages

and reminders that our profession

encompasses more than just student

test scores. Some have taken issue

with a statement or two, but that

feedback is important, too.

all dialogue helps facilitate mutual

respect and, in some cases,

even change.

WhaT haVE BEEn a COuPlE

Of y Our faVOriTE ChiEf’s

COrnEr TOPiCs?

my personal favorites would be the

messages on how effort creates

ability and how our district values and

embraces diversity. there was also

a great response to the message on

leadership. i encouraged all teachers

to see themselves as leaders. to help

them do that, i suggested they make

their own leadership Stick.

WhaT qualiTiEs MakE

a GOOD lEaDEr?

a good leader has patience, empathy,

courage, vision, resolve, commitment,

knowledge and humility. a good leader

influences others for the greater good

of all and inspires growth in those

around him or her. great leaders make

us aware of the unique gifts that

reside in each of us.

FWISD Face

rOBert ray chief of Schools


and actions. to create a leadership

Stick, you must examine those values

that are at your core and then find

corresponding symbols.

dr. Johnson challenged each of her

cabinet members to create their own

leadership Sticks, as well. By the

end of the school year, the district’s

department heads, principals and

many teachers all had leadership

Sticks – unique, personal reminders of

who we are and what we stand for.

Some curious objects appeared in

offices and classrooms during 2009-

2010. they were leadership Sticks, and

the first one to arrive on campus was

colorfully-beaded and had an angel

on top. it belonged to Superintendent

melody Johnson, who created it

after a friend introduced her to the

leadership Stick exercise.

We believe that everyone has

leadership qualities and that each

of us has certain values and belief

systems that drive our thoughts

What leaderShiP lOOKS liKe


[BTn] 200+

u.S. colleges and universities that participated in the district’s 2009-2010 college night, answering students’ and parents’ questions about college requirements, applications and degree plans

[BTn] 5,000

high school students and parents who attended college night

charles e. nash elementary principal

Pamela day pulled out all the stops

to host a special pep rally and

news conference at her school.

cheerleaders, drum corps, mascots

and choirs were all on hand for the

announcement of an unprecedented

scholarship offer: the charles e. nash

academic challenge.

Superintendent melody Johnson

explained the challenge,

a collaborative effort with the tarrant

county college district (tcc) and

the university of texas at arlington.

these two higher education partners

will provide a full tuition scholarship,

including books, for each current

nash student who satisfies the

conditions of the challenge.

PartnerShiP tO Pay FOr cOllege

Students who go on to graduate from

nash and a Fort Worth iSd high school

will receive the resources to complete

an associate’s degree at tcc’s

trinity river campus. ut arlington

will then cover the cost of tuition

and mandatory fees for Pell-eligible

students for an additional period of

two years.


[BTn] 1,620

students and parents who participated in project prevail events to promote student success and college readiness

[BTn] 523

hours put in by stakeholder volunteers who worked on project prevail’s community Action teams

[BTn] 644

students contacted on prevail to graduation neighborhood walks, which target teens who do not return to school in the fall

Fort Worth iSd’s programs and

projects all have a common goal:

college and career readiness.

recently, the district pulled these

efforts together under the umbrella

of Project Prevail, an initiative that

targets everyone in the community

to see that every student graduates

prepared for post-secondary

education and/or the workplace.

Project Prevail targets:

• students and their families

• Fort Worth iSd teachers,

staff and administration

• businesses

• higher education

• professional organizations

• faith-based communities

Project Prevail was a remarkable

success in 2009-2010, with thousands

of students served through such

programs as:

“i DrEaM, i lEarn, i Win

faMily suMMiT”

the 2009-2010 “i dream, i learn, i Win

Family Summit” targeted two Fort

Worth iSd pyramids: diamond hill–

Jarvis hS and north Side hS.

tOgether, We can PreVail

the resource fair and conference

featured guest speakers and provided

students of all ages and their families

with comprehensive information

about college and career readiness.

GO CEnTErs

approximately 6,400 students visited

gO centers, seeking information about

career opportunities, college options

and financial aid. the Fort Worth

chamber of commerce, one of the

district’s most valuable Project Prevail

partners, supports and coordinates

the centers, which operate with the

help of a four-year, $400,000 grant

from at&t received last year.

gO centers are located at all Fort

Worth iSd high schools. there are also

two community locations.


DisTinGuishED EMPlOyErs

Of fOrT WOrTh TEEns

an estimated 25 percent of Fort Worth

teens are employed while in high

school. the distinguished employers

of Fort Worth teens helps students

balance work and school. led by the

Fort Worth chamber of commerce,

the group pledges specific supportive

behaviors, such as scheduling teen

employees to work no later than

10 p.m. on school nights. in 2009-

2010, the number of distinguished

employers increased from 23 to 34.

With many of these employers having

multiple business locations, as many

as 1,100 student workers benefited.

suPEr saTurDays anD

COllEGE finanCial aiD

hElP sEssiOns

these sessions are a collaborative

effort with tarrant county college

and other district educational

partners to help students complete

college applications, scholarship

applications and essays. in this pilot

year, five Super Saturdays and six Free

application for Federal Student aid

sessions were held at district

high schools.

lEaDErshiP aCaDEMy

incoming 9th and 10th graders spent

four days at this motivational

camp held on the campus of the

university of texas at arlington.

Students learned leadership

skills that will serve them in all

areas of their lives.

MulTiCulTural

lEaDErshiP sEMinar

the 2010 seminar was held in San

antonio. incoming 11th and

12th grade students toured college

campuses while learning about

multicultural leadership. the five-

day seminar included workshops on

college admissions and

scholarship applications.

aBriEnDO PuErTas

the abriendo Puertas (Opening doors)

pilot program launched in the spring

of 2010 in the north Side hS pyramid.

Parent volunteers from the pyramid

taught other parents on a variety of

topics, including child development,

transitioning from middle school to

high school, basic study skills and

how to prepare for college.

to partner with Fort Worth iSd, please

visit www.fwisd.org.

[BTn] 294

Adopt-A-School partners serving 124 schools

[BTn] 16

new school adopters in 2009-2010

[BTn] 630,000

parent volunteer hours, a record number

[BTn] 7.9

volunteer hours per student



Freese and nichols is one of Fort

Worth iSd’s most active adopt-a-

School partners. the Fort Worth-based

architecture/engineering firm serves

Wedgwood middle School and

South hills elementary School through

contributions, sponsorships

and individual volunteers.

the company throws pizza parties

for “top readers,” pairs students

with company interns through the

Vital link program and encourages

employees to serve students, whether

through mentoring or judging

academic competitions.

Why DOEs frEEsE anD

niChOls fEEl CallED TO

BE an aDOPT-a-sChOOl

ParTnEr?

giving back to our community from

which we receive great blessings is

a concept started by past leadership

and continues today. What better

place to give back than our schools.

that’s where our future leaders will

come from.

Why is iT MOrE iMPOrTanT

Than EVEr fOr

BusinEssEs TO ParTnEr in

sTuDEnTs’ EDuCaTiOn?

there are three key elements

to school: the teachers and

administrators, the parents and the

local businesses. each has something

positive to contribute to the student

and to learning. When we work as

a team, it brings together the

entire community.

Of ThE Many Ways frEEsE

anD niChOls sErVEs fOrT

WOrTh isD sTuDEnTs,

WhaT is yOur faVOriTE?

i think the adopt-a-School program is

the most important because we can

engage more of our employees in the

effort. they get to contribute directly

and become involved in the

whole process.

WhaT arE ThE MOsT

GraTifyinG MOMEnTs

as an aDOPT-a-sChOOl

ParTnEr?

When we see one of “our” schools

recognized for an accomplishment in

which we provided help or support.

Because of our emphasis at F&n to

give back to our community, all of

our employees have an opportunity

to enjoy that feeling and know they

made a difference.

FWISD Face

rOBert F. Pence president and ceo, Freese and nichols


the Fort Worth iSd math & Science

initiative, launched in 2006, continued

to provide students with extraordinary

real-world learning opportunities.

One of the most successful was the

curriculum-based math & Science trail

at texas christian university (tcu)

sponsored by chesapeake energy and

andrews institute of mathematics,

Science & technology education at

tcu. Students from 34 schools in the

district participated. tcu pre-teachers

guided students from station to

station where they applied their math

and science skills in solving problems.

Students also experienced being on

a university campus.

all 80 elementary schools

hosted a Family math night

supported by more than $48,000

from 20 community partners.

Parents, grandparents and siblings

joined students as they participated in

math activities and games. at 25,000,

it was our best turn-out to date!

and at a spring luncheon, Fort Worth

iSd honored those who made the math

& Science trail, the Family math nights

Partnering FOr math and Science

and other math initiatives possible:

our more than 100 math & Science

initiative community partners.

in fact, the luncheon was generously

sponsored by one of the partners, iBm.

mayor mike moncrief, other elected

officials and business leaders

attended the event at the Fort Worth

museum of Science and history.

Several students shared their

math and science success stories,

Superintendent melody Johnson

provided an update on student

progress and a video was shown

detailing the outstanding activities,

events and programs that are all part

of the math and Science initiative,

such as:

• chairs for teaching excellence in

math and Science

• engineering career mentors in

high schools

• Private math and science grants

to schools

• classroom speakers specializing in

math and science careers

• robotics competitions

[BTn] $70,000

amount donated to the district’s chairs for teaching excellence program by 13 of our business partners

[BTn] 14

outstanding teachers receiving $5,000 honorariums thanks to the generosity of our partners

[BTn] 38

project prevail business and organization partners who provided vital link internships in the summer of 2010

[BTn] 400

vital link student interns


Taks science and

Math scores have made

significant gains since

the Math & science

initiative was launched

in 2006.

TAKS SCIENCE - ALL STUDENTS

TAKS MATH - ALL STUDENTS

[67%][81%]

2006 2010

2005 2010

% MET STANDARD

[33%][63%]

[0%] [100%]

% M

ET

STA

ND

AR

D[0

%]

[10

0%

]

5TH GRADE

8TH GRADE

[48%][64%]10TH GRADE

[66%][87%]11TH GRADE

5T

H G

RA

DE

6T

H G

RA

DE

7T

H G

RA

DE

8T

H G

RA

DE

9T

H G

RA

DE

10T

H G

RA

DE

EX

IT L

EV

EL

4T

H G

RA

DE

3R

D G

RA

DE

75% 75%

63% 64%

81% 81%

86%

70%


the district’s newest tool for

communicating and connecting with

parents is Parentlink. this service

instantly delivers messages to parents

about important school events and

any changes in school operations

calling all ParentS

OuremPlOyeeS

Gloria Solis, Daggett Elementary and De Zavala

Elementary parent educator – named one of five 2010

National Parent Educators of the Year

Paving the Way –

GLoRIA SoLIS

that might affect their child, such as

upcoming taKS testing or weather

closings. messages can be sent to the

parents’ home, cell and work phones,

as well as delivered via e-mail

and text.

[48.4%]FULL-TIMETEACHERS

[7.8%]EDUCATIONAL

AIDES

[3.7%]CAMPUSADMIN

[1.2%]CENTRAL

ADMIN

[28.2%]AUXILLARY

STAFF

[10.6%]PROFESSIONAL

SUPPORT

TOTAL NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 10,670


Fort Worth iSd supported the u.S.

census Bureau’s efforts to get an

accurate count for the 2010 census.

We held poster contests, developed

a curriculum for social studies classes

and passed out medallions and

bookmarks to students.

the Parent and Public engagement

department put together a two-

We’ve got them all – friends, fans

and followers. Fort Worth iSd’s

communications department

managed very active Facebook

and twitter accounts throughout

the year. early on, we began taking

full advantage of social media as

another way to help the public

maintain a clear understanding of

district objectives. this school year

alone, we sent 468 tweets to inform,

alert and spread the word about

the good things going on within

the district. Fort Worth iSd has an

official Facebook page plus individual

Facebook pages for our young

Women’s leadership academy

and texas academy of Biomedical

Sciences Prep.

the communications department also

researched, wrote and distributed 450

news releases to the media.

eVeryOne cOuntS

telling and tWeeting Our StOry

in turn, broadcast news outlets and

print news featured the district in

more than 1,600 stories.

2009-2010 was our first full

school year using granicus for video

on demand and live streaming.

By simply going to our website and

clicking on Video on demand, the

public was able to watch Board of

education meetings either live or

archived. granicus also allowed

everyone to access the more

than 50 videos produced by the

communications department during

the year. topics included professional

development, district initiatives,

student events, distance learning,

capital improvement Program

updates and interactive campus-level

communication. By the end of the

school year, Video on demand had

received more than 50,000 hits.

month marketing campaign to

remind students and parents about

the importance of filling out census

forms. to spread the word to hard-

to-reach families, the department

distributed more than 55,000 pocket-

sized calendars in Spanish and english

at trainings, events and meetings.

[BTn] 400

twitter followers

[BTn] 1050 +

Facebook Fans

[BTn] 21,320,000

approximate number of www.fwisd.org pageviews


Superintendent melody Johnson calls

the Fort Worth iSd communications

council the “voice of the workforce

that helps inform and guide district

leadership.” launched in January by

the communications department, the

communications council replaces the

old campus communicators group.

the new council is designed for

more empowerment and more

two-way communication.

representatives from each campus

make up the council. they meet

monthly to learn about new initiatives,

programs and opportunities in the

district. the representatives, in turn,

bring forward concerns, ideas and

recommendations from across the

district. they also report news and

events from their campuses

and post related photographs on

www.fwisd.org/inside, the district’s

internal newsletter/blog. By June, hits

talKing POintS

to the page had increased by

57 percent.

the first meeting of the

communications council featured

dr. Johnson as guest speaker.

She addressed questions about

curriculum Based assessments,

learning Walks® and showed off

her leadership Stick. at subsequent

meetings, representatives heard from

top administrators. they discussed

employee Safety, employee Wellness

and connects, the district’s new

student information system.

after each meeting, the

communications department provided

a written summary, which council

members distributed to their campus

colleagues. each representative also

received a copy of the critically-

acclaimed book, “leadership on the

line,” by ronald heifetz and

marty linsky.

Jennifer bell, Glencrest 6th Grade School art teacher

– received the outstanding teaching of the Humanities

Award from Humanities texas

Paving the Way –

JENNIFER bELL


museum, research center and now

lecture hall - the district’s Billy W.

Sills center for archives broadened

its activities dramatically in 2009-

2010. First, the center reorganized its

thousands of documents and artifacts

that tell the story of Fort Worth iSd

from its very beginnings.

a second big success was the new

Billy W. Sills lecture Series. Presenters

“i didn’t know she (or he) was from

Fort Worth!”

it’s a comment heard frequently at

the Wall of Fame in the Fort Worth

iSd administration Building. On it are

rows upon rows of photographs of

accomplished and influential

former students.

a rich reSOurce

a legacy OF achieVement

We proudly added another two

dozen faces to the wall, bringing

the total number to 120. among the

new additions are Fort Worth’s three

recipients of the medal of honor, the

nation’s highest award for valor

in action:

• horace carswell, Jr. – major, u.S.

army, World War ii

• charles F. Pendleton – corporal, u.S.

army, Korean War

• robert d. law – Specialist Fourth

class, u.S. army, Vietnam War

you are welcome to stop by the

administration Building during

business hours to view the Wall of

Fame. you never know whose face you

may find there!

included historians and an expert in

genealogical research. Kris mcintosh,

Fort Worth iSd PeaK Specialist for

Social Studies, presented a program

on texas history as depicted through

stamps and art. meanwhile, university

students continued to use the center

to research papers on everything from

school desegregation to the portrayal of

women in history books.

JEan MCClunG MiDDlE sChOOl

lOCaTiOn: 3000 Forest avenue

squarE fEET: 162,000



COMPlETiOn: Fall 2011

a culture OF SerVice & reSPOnSiBility

A culture oF ServIce And reSponSIbIlIty pAge 75


One brand new school completed and

four more under construction – 2009-

2010 was a stellar year for Fort Worth

iSd’s capital improvement Program

(ciP). in addition to building new

schools, the ciP continued to expand

and renovate many existing schools

and athletic facilities.

the work was all part of the $593.6

million Bond referendum approved

by voters in 2007. the ciP, as

promised, operated efficiently and

transparently, employed sustainable

design practices and kept the public

informed along the way. among its

achievements in 2009-2010, the ciP:

• Was named Public Sector

advocate of the year by the Black

contractors association

On time, under Budget

• Processed approximately 3,500

invoices with a processing time

well within the terms of the Prompt

Payment act

• Stayed on schedule and within

budget – to date, there is a total

budget savings of more than

$50 million!

• enjoyed a historically underutilized

Business participation that exceeded

the 25 percent expectation set by the

Board of education

• Posted monthly reports on plans

and accomplishments on the Fort

Worth iSd website

the citizens’ Oversight committee,

established by the Board of education

in 2007, met quarterly to maintain

the accountability and ensure the

integrity of the ciP.

neighbors of Wedgwood

6th Grade Center got

a show as a helicopter

hovered over the school

to help replace air

conditioning and heating

equipment on the roof.


Fort Worth iSd expects its schools to

be every bit as high-performing as

its students. that is why the capital

improvement Program directed

the architects of our new schools

to follow guidelines set by the

collaborative for high Performing

Schools (chPS). to be ranked “high

performance” by the chPS, a school

must be:

• healthy and comfortable

• energy and material efficient

• easy to maintain and operate

• environmentally responsive to

the site

• a building that teaches

• Safe and secure

deSigned tO PerFOrm

• a community resource

• Stimulating architecture

• adaptable to changing needs

each of our newest schools is chPS

verified, thanks to sustainable

features such as:

• geo-thermal heating and air

conditioning systems, which reduce

energy consumption

• Windows that provide natural

lighting in the classrooms

• improved noise control in and

between classrooms

• Water conservation

• native plants used in landscaping to

reduce irrigation needs



DOEs sChOOl DEsiGn

iMPaCT lEarninG?

absolutely. the sustainable design

concepts of our new schools will

contribute greatly to the teaching

and learning environment, from

the acoustics and lighting to the

interactive whiteboards in every

classroom that will engage today’s

technologically-proficient students

on a daily basis.

hOW arE sOME Of Our

OlDEr sChOOls BEinG

rEnOVaTED TO EnhanCE

TEaChinG anD lEarninG?

new ceilings, lighting, painting,

hVac upgrades, roofing upgrades,

restroom renovations and flooring

replacements – all combine to give

the schools a fresh appearance,

which improves everyone’s attitude.

teachers and students alike benefit

when they can take pride in their

new environments.

WhEn WE say Our

nEWEsT sChOOls arE

susTainaBlE, BEsiDEs

saVinG EnErGy, WhaT DO

WE MEan?

Sustainability is a broad concept that

also incorporates optimizing land

usage, locating the facility relative

to community elements, using local

materials to reduce impact to the

environment, increasing the use of

daylight to conserve energy and

enhance the interior environment and

providing for the comfort and well-

being of the occupants.

WhaT arE sOME

COMPOnEnTs Of GOOD

sChOOl DEsiGn ThaT Many

Of us May nOT nOTiCE Or

May TakE fOr GranTED?

i think immediately of the

energy management systems,

all the technology systems with

their sophisticated data cabling

infrastructures, iP telephone systems,

fire alarm systems, public address

systems and security systems.

there are many complex systems that

must be figured into the design of

today’s modern schools.

FWISD Face

Walter danSBy deputy Superintendent, capital Improvement program


effective and efficient operations were more critical than ever. as a result of the legislative mandate that froze revenue at 2005 levels, maintaining superior support for our students was a constant challenge. Our division of Business and Finance watched the bottom line, counted every penny and found innovative ways to stretch our dollars. For instance:

• the Business Support Services department renegotiated the district’s Xerox lease for a savings of $114,000 per year• campuses leased “unlimited” multifunction copiers for less than what the district was paying for standard copiers• employees were allowed to place orders through the Fort Worth iSd Print Shop, reducing the need for warehouse forms• the district began transitioning from external vendors to in-house print services

the division of Business & Finance earned awards and recognitions for its efforts, including:

SteWardShiP, SerVice & SaVingS

aCCOunTinG• Superior achievement rating from the texas education agency’s School

Finance accountability

rating program

• association for School Business

Officials (aSBO) international and

the government Finance Officers

association (gFOa) awards for the

department’s comprehensive annual

Financial report

BuDGET

• aSBO international meritorious

Budget award

• gFOa distinguished Budget

Presentation award

PurChasinG

• award of merit from the texas

association of School

Business Officials

all division employees completed

Phase i of customer service training.

meanwhile, the district’s first online

enrollment system for 403(b)

and 457(b) retirement/savings

programs attracted participants.

approximately 3,600 employees

actively contributed to the plans in

their first year.


the district’s purchase of 25 diesel/

electric school buses revved up our

“go green, Save green” campaign.

it is an ongoing effort to build lifelong

conservation habits among students,

their families and our staff.

Seeing green

Our Budget

[60.4%]INSTRUCTION

[16.3%]SUPPORT & COMMUNITY

SERVICES

[11.5%]PUPIL SERVICES

OPERATING BUDGET $560,681,907

INSTRUCTION RELATED 8.5%

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT 2.6%

FACILITIES ACQUISITION 1%

INTERGOVERNMENTAL CHARGES .6%

recycling efforts spearheaded by

district Operations reduced trash

service and increased recycle service

at 11 schools. Because trash is more

costly to pick up than recycled

materials, the district expects to

eventually reap the financial rewards

of recycling. For now, we take pleasure

in adopting changes big (such as the

geothermal systems that will heat and

cool our newest schools) and small

(replacing gymnasium light bulbs with

more energy-efficient ones) to help

conserve precious resources.


Fort Worth iSd’s grants and

development department teamed

with the curriculum & instruction

and School leadership departments

to manage and direct the more than

$86 million in funding from the

american reinvestment and recovery

act (arra). a cross-departmental

committee convened weekly to

identify needs and maximize this

extraordinary amount of funding

allocated to the district.

the funding included:

• $24.5 million in title i funds

distributed by the texas education

agency (tea) to improve basic

programs for economically

disadvantaged students

• $16.4 million in individuals with

disabilities education act funding

distributed by the tea

• $40.1 million in State Fiscal

Stabilization Funds distributed by

the tea to help the district overcome

financial shortfalls left by lack of

state funds

• $578,000 distributed by the

texas department of agriculture to

purchase new food service equipment

• $1.6 million distributed through the

north texas council of governments

to help purchase 25 hybrid

school buses

Funding PurSuitS Pay OFF

the grants and development

department aggressively and

successfully pursued other funding

during this challenging financial year.

these efforts put the district in line

to receive $40 million in discretionary

funding from state, federal and

private sources.

grants received in 2009-2010 included:

• algebra readiness grant

- $2.2 million from the tea to provide

full-time math coaches to nine

middle schools

• drop Out Prevention grant

- $250,000 from the tea for programs

that partner the district with the

city of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth

chamber of commerce

• Pre-K early Start grant

- $4.2 million from the tea

• national endowment for the arts

- $30,000; one of only six grants to

public education agencies across

the country

• Sid richardson Foundation

- $60,000 to provide a Wellness

coordinator at each elementary

school; $100,000 to provide tuition

for teacher assistants to receive their

education degree


Fort Worth iSd’s energy management

program is always looking to save –

energy and money. no one looks any

harder than Foreman Stojan trickovic.

in 2009-2010, while monitoring

electricity rates, he came up with

a concept for the district to

negotiate new rates before the

current contract expired. the

department worked out the details

and presented a plan, which the

POWer Play

school board quickly approved.

as a result, when electricity rates

were hitting 30-year lows, the

district went shopping. We locked in

lower rates, saving approximately

$4.8 million per year for four years for

a total of $19.2 million. trickovic,

a mechanical engineer and former

math teacher at O.d. Wyatt hS, has

worked in energy management since

it was formed in 1997.

green initiative funds and donations

received included:

• $43,489 from Oncor/clearesults

to replace air conditioning units at

dunbar 6th and South hi mount eS

• a solar energy system valued at

$60,000 donated by tXu for arlington

heights hS

• $143,074 from the State energy

conservation Office and $224,000 in

Oncor rebates to purchase a solar

energy system for Wilkerson-greines

activity center

• $308,071 from the Sue Pope Fund to

purchase three hybrid delivery trucks

another $217,754 in funding from the

mcKinney-Vento homeless assistance

Project, homeless education

Office, arra and the united States

department of education will provide

tutoring, supplies and other support

for homeless students.

art Cavazos, assistant

superintendent for District

Operations, received the

2010 Commitment to

Excellence award from the

Texas association of school

Business Officials.



WhaT DO yOu

COnsiDEr yOur Main

rEsPOnsiBiliTy as

fOrEMan Of ThE

DisTriCT’s EnErGy

ManaGEMEnT PrOGraM?

my primary responsibility is to save

the district money that is spent

on utilities. this is accomplished

by establishing a workable and

sustainable energy conservation

program, while maintaining an

optimal indoor environment at

each campus.

BEsiDEs nEGOTiaTinG nEW

ElECTriCiTy raTEs, hOW

haVE yOu BEEn aBlE TO

CuT EnErGy COsTs?

the district has been retrofitting

inefficient lighting fixtures and hVac

equipment that results in relatively

quick, simple payback. Working

with top administrators, principals,

facility managers and maintenance

& Operations foremen, we have

been able to set appropriate energy

management System schedules

for each campus. the district’s

employees, especially teachers and

custodial staff, deserve much of the

credit for our successful reduction of

energy usage.

WhEn yOu PrOPOsED

nEGOTiaTinG nEW

ElECTriCiTy raTEs,

WErE yOu surPrisED aT

hOW quiCkly iT CaME TO

fruiTiOn?

actually, the concept was developed

and designed during several

conversations with the district’s top

administrators. the concept was

quickly adopted and unanimously

approved by the Board of education.

it was teamwork at its best.

WhaT arE sOME siMPlE

ThinGs all EMPlOyEEs

Can DO ThaT aDD uP TO

suBsTanTial EnErGy

saVinGs?

(1) turn off lights when you leave

a room. (2) turn off all unused

equipment at the end of every day.

(3) turn off or set back thermostats

at the end of every day.

FWISD Face

StOJan tricKOVic energy management Foreman


more children than ever started

the school day with a nutritious

breakfast. the district’s Breakfast in

the classroom program debuted at

four elementary campuses: clifford

davis, W.m. green, Sunrise-mcmillian,

and Van Zandt-guinn. each student

was given the opportunity to enjoy

a free breakfast in their classroom

regardless of family income.

the program boosted breakfast

participation by:

• 95 percent at clifford davis

• 145 percent at W.m. green

• 72 percent at Sunrise-mcmillian

• 64 percent at Van Zandt-guinn

nOuriShing BOdieS and mindS

Overall breakfast participation in

the district increased by 9.9 percent.

lunch participation was up 11.9

percent. We made sure these

students had healthy choices.

Our child nutrition Services

department added fresh fruits

and vegetables to every line at

every school.

in its second year, mylunchmoney.com

made paying for school meals

more convenient. Parents went online

to prepay for meals, view their child’s

purchases and set spending limits.

Applying online for free and reduced meals is catching on with parents.

[BTn] 5,287

online applications received for free and reduced meals

[BTn] 1,004

homeless students who received school supplies, transportation, tutoring, nutrition and other services through the Special programs department

Special programs also served: 363 students in the American Indian education program 829 students who qualified for Section 504

[BTn] 106

school nurses served 126 campuses

[BTn] 290,566

first aid situations and illnesses assessed by nurses


We believe we owe our students,

employees and the community

beautifully-maintained schools.

Our custodians and other employees

in the maintenance & Operations

department worked year-round and

often went beyond the call of duty to

keep grounds manicured, classrooms

painted and floors polished.

they also completed special

maintenance projects, such as:

• renovating the young Women’s

leadership academy

• restoring the historical front

entrance of trimble tech hS

• restoring the cupola at arlington

heights hS

FirSt imPreSSiOnS cOunt

• renovating the playground and

grounds at de Zavala eS

crews even engaged in friendly

competition for the Fort Worth iSd

campus Beautification awards.

the winners were:

• area i: carter-riverside hS, W.c.

Stripling mS and m.g. ellis Primary

• area ii: O.d. Wyatt hS, glencrest 6th

and carroll Peak eS

• area iii: South hills hS, leonard mS

and alice contreras eS


the texas School Safety center

selected Fort Worth iSd to participate

in Project Protect. this comprehensive

program is designed to limit

susceptibility to violent incidents,

increase the management capability

of any hazardous situation and

increase overall safety for children in

our schools.

Fort Worth iSd formed its incident

command management team,

which utilizes the national incident

management System (nimS).

the system-wide, proactive approach

prepares for, prevents when possible,

responds to, recovers from and

mitigates the effects of incidents.

Following the nimS model, the

incident command management team

is divided into five branches:

• Operations – carries out

response activities

• Planning – gathers information for

determining what actions to take

• logistics – Provides the resources

for dealing with the incident

a SuBJect We taKe SeriOuSly

a PrOtOcOl FOr reSPOnSe and recOVery

as part of Project Protect, the

district launched the Safe Schools

ambassadors, formed the incident

command management team and

began special trainings to keep our

students physically and

emotionally safe.

• Finance – Pays and tracks expenses

for needed resources

• educational continuity – develops

a plan to continue the education

of students

the nimS model adapts to any size

incident and aligns with

other command agencies, such

as police departments, that

use similar systems.

every member of the incident

command management team is

required to be federally certified by

the Federal emergency management

agency and to attend exercises

and trainings.

[BTn] 85

Fort Worth After School sites

Fort Worth ISd and the city of Fort Worth celebrated 10 years of providing thousands of students with safe environments that also build academic performance.


Frank discussions on bullying, cyber-bullying and violence topped four workshops for parents held in may 2010. Students also received a dose of prevention education. A series of guidance sessions offered tips about making safe, healthy choices and raised awareness about factors that put students at risk.

[BTn] 8,410

students who received prevention education

[BTn] 443

parents who attended prevention presentations on school campuses

What happens when students take

the lead to end the bullying and

keep the peace on school campuses?

the message reaches their peers in

immediate and meaningful ways, as

Fort Worth iSd is finding out.

in early 2010, the district rolled

out the Safe School ambassadors

program. it works by identifying

students who are leaders of diverse

cliques and social groups and training

POWerFul PeacemaKerS

them to use their influence for good.

they learn communication skills for

defusing arguments or potentially

hurtful situations. “Students see, hear

and know what adults don’t. they can

intervene in ways that adults can’t,”

said cynthia Bethany, Fort Worth iSd

critical incident Specialist. By the

end of the school year, Safe School

ambassadors had been trained at

14 campuses.



early feedback from our new Safe

School ambassadors program was

positive. Students and teachers

reported incidents in which kids

stepped in and stopped conflicts.

and even students who rarely

participated in school activities

asked to be part of the program.

hOW DiD yOu GET TO

BE a safE sChOOl

aMBassaDOr?

i was nominated by a teacher. i was

surprised because usually teachers

pick the good kids that stand out.

i think i was picked because i get

along with different groups of people.

hOW haVE yOu

PErsOnally usED ThE

skills yOu lEarnED in

TraininG?

i saw a fellow student getting picked

on. i just walked over to the guys

who were bullying him and said,

“Why are y’all doing that? he’s pretty

cool once you get to know him.

he’s like anybody. he only wants to

make new friends.” the next day,

i saw them talking to him like friends.

it felt really neat to see that.

hOW has BEinG a safE

sChOOl aMBassaDOr

ChanGED yOur lifE?

i used to be in trouble and spend

a lot of time in the assistant

principal’s office – usually for things

like dress code violations or talking

back. now, i hang out there just

to talk. and i’m participating in

sports this year. my coach says i’m

a different person.

has ThErE BEEn anyThinG

aBOuT ThE PrOGraM ThaT

has surPrisED yOu?

i couldn’t believe how much power

there is in something as simple as

smiling at someone in the hall. i never

understood that before. if everyone

just smiled and helped one person

and that person paid it forward – can

you imagine what my school would be

like in just a few years?

FWISD Face

mica garcia Safe School Ambassador, paschal hS


training aVertS tragedy

On the afternoon of September 10,

2009, the varsity baseball squad

began running laps on the track at

trimble tech high School – typical off-

season conditioning drills. But what

happened at 2:50 p.m. that thursday

was anything but typical. Sophomore

luis rubio, a good centerfielder and

promising pitcher, collapsed and

stopped breathing.

the coaching staff could not have

predicted or prevented the blockage

in luis’s artery that threatened his life.

But they did the next best thing

– exactly what they had been trained

to do in just such an emergency.

head coach michael garza, assistant

coach tyson Wormsbaker, trainer

Jason “doc” Braud and luis shared

their memories.

it was a day that two Fort Worth iSd coaches, a trainer and one young athlete will never forget.


Luis Rubio: “it was a normal day.

athletics started out normal, too.

i felt good.”

Tyson Wormsbaker: “We were just

getting into our conditioning for the

off-season and working on footwork

and speed. We had done a few

short sprints.”

Michael Garza: “We were going to

finish the day with two laps around

the track.”

Jason Braud: “i was in my office. We

had a football game that night, and i

was getting ready, making sure i had

everything i needed. i had already

packed the aed (automated

external defibrillator).”

Tyson Wormsbaker: “all the boys were

running. at 2:50, most of them were

finishing their first lap – luis, too.

he’s a fast kid, usually at the front of

the pack.”

Luis Rubio: “i was running around the

track, finishing my first lap. all of

a sudden, i couldn’t breathe. i needed

air. i just needed to breathe. i couldn’t.

i collapsed. everything went black.”

Tyson Wormsbaker: “Out of the corner

of my eye i saw someone falling.

it was luis. he wasn’t moving at all.

i ran to him as quickly as i could.”

Michael Garza: “he collapsed face-first

on the track. When coach Wormsbaker

and i got there, he wasn’t breathing.

his eyes were rolling back into his head

and his body was stiff. he was fighting

for his life.”

Tyson Wormsbaker: “i checked his

breathing and his pulse. i wasn’t

getting either. So i started cPr

immediately. coach garza and i kept

telling luis to wake up.”

Michael Garza: “i called ‘doc’

(trainer Jason Braud) and 911 while

coach Wormsbaker started chest

compressions. When he stopped to

clear luis’s throat, i took over

the compressions.”

Jason Braud: “When i got the phone

call, i could tell by coach garza’s voice

that something was really wrong.

he was asking for my assistance on the

track. i grabbed my school radio and

ran to the track.”

Tyson Wormsbaker: “luis had a prior

heart condition, but he had been

cleared to play baseball. he knew to

stop if he felt tired. But he always

seemed to be in good shape.”

OuT Of ThE COrnEr Of My EyE i saW sOMEOnE fallinG. iT Was luis.

- tyson Wormsbackerassistant coach


Jason Braud: “as i got closer, i saw

coach garza and coach Wormsbaker

performing cPr. i yelled into my radio,

‘cPr in progress. medStar needed

on the track now!’ i repeated the

statement and ran back to retrieve

the aed. the school officer heard my

radio message and called for

an ambulance.”

Michael Garza: “as soon as ‘doc’

got there, he cut off luis’s shirt and

hooked up the aed.”

Jason Braud: “i was on auto-pilot. For

eight years, i have been an instructor

in cPr, aed and First aid.”

Tyson Wormsbaker: “the aed read his

vital signs and signaled to shock him.

We stopped cPr and stepped back.”

Jason Braud: “i administered the

shock and luis came to. he looked up

at me. it was one of those moments

where you’re thinking, ‘did this just

happen?’ But i knew we were not out

of the woods. i wanted medStar

there fast.”

Luis Rubio: “i woke up and saw the

coaches around me. i didn’t know

what happened. the ambulance was

there, too.”

Jason Braud: “luis was actually trying

to get up. that’s one you don’t find in

the books. But there were still a lot of

questions. could he fall back

into v-fib?”

Tyson Wormsbaker: “i knew he still

had a ways to go. it shook me up, even

after he woke up.”

Michael Garza: “We were pretty

scared. i kept thinking, ‘Please, god.

don’t let him die.’ it was a relief to see

the ambulance pull up.”

Jason Braud: “medStar got there

amazingly fast. it just so happened

that the crew had just cleared a call at

harris methodist er across the street.

all the pieces fell into place that day.”

Tyson Wormsbaker: “Of course, the

kids were still upset. i was upset, too,

so i could imagine how they were

feeling. We took them inside to talk to

them. We wanted to give them some

assurance that luis was in

good hands.”

Jason Braud: “even after medStar

took luis away, i was still on auto-

pilot. i knew phone calls had to be

made. all the higher-ups needed to

know what happened. and i had to get

iT Was Only afTEr i haD TiME TO sTEP BaCk ThaT ThE EMOTiOn CaME.

- Jason Braudtrainer


my pads for my aed unit as we had

a game. it was only after i had time

to step back and take it all in that the

emotion came.”

Michael Garza: “the three of us

teared up. i guess it really didn’t hit

us until it was all over. i thought about

all the different ways it might

have ended.”

Luis Rubio: “riding to the hospital,

i was still wondering what happened.

i knew it was something serious, but

i still thought i had just fainted.

it was two days later in the hospital

that they told me everything that

happened. they said a piece of tissue

blocked an artery. i was thankful and

so glad to be here.”

Tyson Wormsbaker: “We all talked

about it later. it happened at just

about the best place it could have.

if luis had been out somewhere with

his friends, without help nearby and

with no aed, he wouldn’t be here.”

Michael Garza: “We get trained every

year for cPr, and we go through aed

training. luis would not have made it

without the aed.”

Luis Rubio: “i feel glad to have

coaches that were close by and knew

what they were doing. they are life-

savers and really, really good friends.

i want to play ball again next year –

now that everything’s repaired and

i have my pacemaker.”

Tyson Wormsbaker: “i talk to luis

when i can. the doctors have cleared

him to play baseball again, so

we’re trying to get him a special chest

protector.”

Jason Braud: “the four of us will

forever be linked. We may not talk

about the event that much.

But September 10th will always be

kind of like a birthday for all of us.”

Fort Worth iSd has 180 aeds, many of them provided by generous partners.

Pantego Bible church donated 24 units to all middle schools and 6th grade

centers. texas health resources supplied 12 units for our high schools.

lOOKing aheadrOsEMOnT ElEMEnTary sChOOl

lOCaTiOn: 6th avenue and W. Seminary drive

squarE fEET: 80,000

CaPaCiTy: 650 – 750 students


COMPlETiOn: Fall 2011

lookIng AheAd pAge 97


goodbye, old mass-production model

of education. hello, new gold Seal

Programs of choice! these highly-

specialized courses of study target

areas that strongly interest students

and provide hands-on, real-world

experiences to prepare them

for the job market of the future.

Students may even receive college

credits and certifications and

licensures. Working alongside

professionals in various fields,

students will begin building important

relationships for success in university,

career and life.

gOld Seal PrOgramS OF chOice

TExas aCaDEMy Of

BiOMEDiCal sCiEnCEs

PrEP (TaBs PrEP)

taBS Prep is a dynamic collaboration

with the university of north texas

health Science center and the

university of north texas.

Opening august 2010 on the W.c.

Stripling mS campus, taBS Prep will

put 8th graders on the path to higher

education and healthcare careers

such as:

• doctor

• Veterinarian

• emergency medical technician

• Forensic Scientist

• Biomedical engineer

• Biotechnician

• Pharmacist

• homeland Security Official

taBS Prep is also a stepping stone

to future enrollment in the texas

academy of Biomedical Sciences, the

early-college high school program set

to open in august 2011.

Seventy-four students were accepted

to taBS Prep. the directors of the Sid

W. richardson Foundation recently

approved a $720,000 grant, payable

over five years, to help support

the program.


yOunG WOMEn’s

lEaDErshiP aCaDEMy

(yWla)

Fort Worth iSd’s first single-gender

school opens in august 2010 to 150

6th and 7th graders. yWla’s rigorous

learning environment will encourage

critical thinking, inspire confidence

and nurture students intellectually

and socially.

the academy is a partnership between

the district and the Foundation for the

education of young Women. a $25,500

innovation generation grant from the

motorola Foundation will allow yWla

to implement Project lead the Way’s

gateway to technology curriculum,

which includes design and modeling,

automation and robotics, energy and

the environment and flight and space.

sOuThWEsT aCaDEMy Of

PETrOlEuM EnGinEErinG

anD TEChnOlOGy (saPET)

math, science and technology are at

the forefront at SaPet, a unique, high-

energy “school within a school”

that offers:

• rigorous coursework

• Opportunities to work with

engineering, energy and

petroleum professionals

• hands-on experiences that build

teamwork, leadership and critical-

thinking skills

SaPet students will graduate fully

prepared for college or direct entry

into the energy-related workplace,

where they can pursue careers such

as chemical engineering, geology and

computer science. SaPet is

a partnership between Fort Worth

iSd and the independent Petroleum

association of america.

FORT WORTH INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT


We are changing the way we share information about students and communicate with parents. in 2010-2011, teachers will begin using the connects electronic grade book for student-centered analysis, administrative business and real-time

the district’s brand new employee health and Wellness department will help employees find a successful balance between their work and personal lives. the department’s two main goals are:

• to provide all employees with a work environment that is collegial, supportive and inclusive• to provide employees with tools and supports to balance work and personal responsibilities

When it comes to bullying, “sexting” or dating violence, we want everyone to remember these three words: it’s not Okay. that’s the name of a district media campaign gearing up for 2010-2011. it will encourage and empower students to make healthy decisions and ask for help when they or their friends are in need.

cOnnectS

emPlOyee health & WellneSS dePartment

it’S nOt OKay

“it’s not Okay” will focus on behaviors that put students at risk, including bullying, cyber-bullying, sexual harassment, suicide, gangs and substance abuse. the district website will offer research-based information, guidelines and contacts for getting immediate help.

reporting. Parents, in turn, will be able to track their child’s grades and attendance via a special Parent Portal on the district website. Schools can also place public announcements on the portal.

the first step in achieving these goals was taken in the spring of 2010 when employees filled out a Work-life Balance Survey. the results are helping the department plan initiatives, events and a work-life website. the website will be a comprehensive resource for information about health management, referral services, employee discounts and more.


What started as a district effort to address student obesity has turned into a wellness program that will target the entire community. Fit Fort Worth will encourage everyone to make the healthy choices that lead to personal wellness and success in the classroom, workplace or home.

talented math and science students will have the opportunity to take their learning to new heights with advanced academic immersion (a2i). in 2010-2011, a2i will offer four rigorous, sophisticated advanced Placement courses that develop the critical thinking and problem-solving skills essential to success in aP and college. the classes will be held at

Behind the scenes at Fort Worth iSd, a transformation is in the works that will positively impact every employee and, as a result, our students. First, a name change: the human resources department is now human capital management (hcm). under the new name, the department will shift from an advisory and transactional focus to a much broader approach in cultivating, managing and leveraging talent.

Fit FOrt WOrth

a2i

human caPital management

Fit Fort Worth’s three areas of priority will be physical fitness, nutrition and health management. community health agencies and organizations will join the district in developing events, activities and resources that address these priorities, including classes, a health and wellness website and a wellness “message of the month.”

tarrant county college’s trinity river campus.

a Summer acceleration program at Southwest hS prepared students for entry into a2i. more than 200 students attended, taking Pre-aP courses in algebra i, geometry, algebra 2 and Pre-calculus.

hcm will:

• look at the whole employee life cycle as a continuing process that includes recruiting the best people, developing targeted skills and retaining and promoting top talent• use a breadth of meaningful data to measure progress and inform key decisions around talent management• expand on best practices of hcm and professional development to build effective leaders and teachers

We reduced the environmental footprint of this report by printing limited

copies and posting the content on our website at www.fwisd.org/about.

www.fwisd.org

100 N. University Drive

Fort Worth,TX 76107

817.814.2000

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

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Building the Future: 2009-2010 Annual Report

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