A state-appointed board of managers overseeing Fort Worth ISD amid a state takeover triggered by the Texas Education Agency voted 9-0 Tuesday night to close International Newcomer Academy.
The campus, which is dedicated to middle school refugee students and asylum seekers learning English as a second language, received an “F” rating from the TEA in 2023 and a “D”’ rating in 2024, according to the school’s website.
Under state law, the TEA can take over a district if it has a failing campus for five consecutive years and appoint new leadership. TEA Commissioner Mike Morath appointed Peter Licata and nine new board members in March.
The closure is part of a broader restructuring that includes staff and campus reductions across the district.
During the nearly eight hour meeting Tuesday night, more than 100 families and advocates opposed closing the campus, shared with the newly appointed board of managers that the academy provides important, life-changing services that go beyond academics.
The school, which enrolls over 240 students according to the district, works with students in 6th-9th grade who recently arrived in the US. The campus aims to help them learn English, adjust to life in Fort Worth, and learn life skills and new concepts found in their grade-level curriculum.
The teachers at the school also have specialized training to work with students from various backgrounds who speak different languages.
“This is morally wrong,” Sabrina Ball, a Fort Worth ISD parent of 15 years said during the meeting. “ I fully understand you don’t represent me. It is clear from this agenda you serve Governor Abbott. This is not leadership. It’s compliance. If you’re here to mitigate harm, then act like it. Use your positions to demand accountability from Mike Morath and his failures.”
But Licata disagreed with the speakers’ pleas, and claimed students would be better served by being immersed at mainstream campuses.
“We have to get the glut out of this building and out of some other buildings that aren’t supporting students,” Licata said. “I know the passion exists. But we have to ask ourselves, do we want better for our kids or are we here to fight for the adults in the building? We owe them more, and the status quo is not acceptable for me, nor should it be for anyone in this room.”
In November, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) warned that the TEA’s ranking system could disproportionately affect campuses that teach English as a second language.
“What most people don’t understand is when kids come here from another country and they don’t know a lick of English, they get one year, after which they have to pass the STAAR test in English. Most of the kids were in that situation. I believe in standards, but that’s not appropriate,” she said during a town hall in Fort Worth over the district’s takeover last year.
The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR exam, has a significant impact on the rating system the TEA uses to grade schools across the state.
The board of managers also unanimously voted to cut roughly 32 roles districtwide during Tuesday night’s meeting, including bilingual roles, speech therapy assistants, special education roles, and part-time physical and occupational therapists.
