If I were Fort Worth’s Superintendent…

Go big. Gargantuan. What do we have to lose?

A few caveats:
- I’m not in charge; I tried that and it didn’t work, lol.
- Intellectual exercises are fun; they don’t have to make sense
- Discomfort teaches us important things about ourselves. So lean in.

1. Become the state’s model of aNeurodiverse Education in public education.
   a. Complete psychoeducational testing on every kid from pre-K to 3rd grade, immediately
   b. For any kiddo diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder (ADHD, ASD) or learning disability, get them enrolled in active treatment with clinicians giving care ON their campus, immediately
   c. Use SPED-level staffing and support for all campuses from pre-K to 5th
2. Intentionally sculpt campuses (population and facilities) for developmental mindset and focus with robust marketing to attract particular students to particular campuses (i.e. eliminate the “geolocation pyramid”)
   a. PreK and Kindergarten
   b. 1–4
   c. 5–6
   d. 7–8
   e. 9–10
   f. 11–12

3. Free lunch for Pre-K through 8th grade. For 9th-12th grades, eliminate cafeteria contract and partner directly with local restaurants and food trucks (preloaded card based meal plan? Branded “Worth Bucks” to be spent at the participating vendor of the teens’ choice?)

4. Commit to 3 layers of administrative infrastructure to support educators:
Teachers are front line subject matter experts.
Principals (and APs) are behavioral and supply supports for their subject matter experts (teachers)
Directors are financial and organizational supports for their behavioral and supply supports (principals and APs)
Superintendent ensures that everything has a metric and can be tracked through all 3 layers.

5. Spin-off all athletic sports into a district wide sports company owned by the District but run as a for-profit. This allows for consolidating sports resources and building better teams to compete statewide.

6. Institute 4 day educational week for grade 9–12th; give those teachers more time off and replace the students’ 5th day with direct experiential learning (a job…like teaching the kindergarteners how to read or work collaboration with local company, college classes, volunteer work, civil servant internships, trade school classes, etc).

7. Coordinate with local higher ed programs (TCC, Tarleton, UTA, TCU, A&M) to give credit for collegestudents who provide no-cost or low-cost reading support and math tutoring to 1–6 graders. (background checks required)

8. Champion Fort Worth’s Front Yard concept :D

9. Coordinate “goodness of fit” conversations between private schools, charter schools, and the local public school for any parent that requests it. Stress the importance that public school ISN’T the ONLY option for every child so let’s facilitate connections that benefit the kid, not the bottom line.

10. Provide the software for parents, teachers, and concerned citizens to have direct, civil conversations aimed toward problem solving using active profile management tools to promote camaraderie. No Facebook. In fact, I’d outright ban the use of FB by anyone serving in an official school capacity.

We had a total eclipse of the sun in 2024, right in our backyard. It won’t happen again in our lifetime. I wonder if FWISD is ready to go big with a once in a lifetime plan?