Secondary Redesign
Fort Worth ISD seeks to transform the critical and often challenging high school and middle school experience by focusing on raising rigor, increasing personal relationships in teaching and learning, and developing connections with students based on their individual situations and environments. Every student will have a personalized academic learning profile, every class will have a profile and every campus will have a profile. Personalization is enhanced by reducing teachers’ student loads to an effective number.
The District also provides ongoing professional development opportunities where teachers can learn new skills and reenergize their careers. Acclaimed classes and workshops build teacher strengths in three main areas: leadership, academic rigor and culture/climate.
Teachers in grades 6 through 10 are given common time for planning. This academic teaming provides a safety net for students – allowing them to be monitored more closely. Academic teaming also gives teachers a built-in support system.
The District hosts Transition Camps to orient incoming 6th and 9th graders to their new surroundings. The camps help improve students’ math and science skills and provide an opportunity for bonding with peers—giving them a head start into the critical school year ahead.
Secondary Redesign has also sharpened the District’s focus on college-readiness through its partnership with Princeton Review. Campus-based classes prepare students’ for the SAT and ACT exams.
All Fort Worth ISD high schools and middle schools are AVID sites. The AVID program serves low-income students and those who meet other criteria - including being the first in the family to attend college. Students who want to participate in AVID are put on a rigorous college preparatory path.