McKenzie: Mattie Parker’s courageous education crusade (2024)

We can argue all we want about school bathrooms, books in libraries and what’s appropriate in history lessons. But our state’s most urgent education need is elevating student achievement. As one example, the 2023-24 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) show that just 53% of Texas students in grades 3 through 8 and in early high school read at the appropriate grade level or above. That number declines to 42% for economically disadvantaged students. And in Fort Worth, only 31% of all students read at grade level in the last school year.

As this new school year began, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker demonstrated the kind of honest, plainspoken leadership that communities need if their students are to become strong readers, curious about their world and innovative in their abilities to solve problems.

The Republican took the unusual step of speaking in late August at a Fort Worth Independent School District board meeting. Her office has no authority over FWISD schools. But she pulled a Mike Rawlings and used her platform to emphasize the underperforming nature of the district’s schools over a 10-year period. Former Dallas Mayor Rawlings used his standing a dozen years ago to call attention to long-standing achievement problems in Dallas’ public schools.

Parker made the point that student success — or lack thereof — matters to the progress of her entire city.

Along with her brief but pointed address to the board, which came after private meetings with trustees and administrators, Parker released a letter that detailed how far behind FWISD schools are to those in Dallas, Houston and other places in Texas. The letter also outlined a series of reforms that could improve district governance and student achievement. And it contained the signatures of every Fort Worth City Council member as well as parent activists and civic leaders.

By drawing upon three elements — political leadership, community support and education fundamentals — Parker followed the precedents set by Dallas and Houston and that cities like Midland are pursuing. Get political leaders to stand up. Draw upon an ecosystem of backers. And employ tested strategies.

Not that all schools in Dallas and Houston are elevating student performance consistently. Not at all. But those three elements have led to some success in Dallas and Houston.

Look at the results in Houston ISD after Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath appointed former Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles to lead there in 2023. Morath did so after the Texas Education Agency took over the state’s largest district.

In only one year, the number of HISD campuses with an A or B rating on the state’s accountability system went from 11 to 53. One school — Wainwright Elementary — went from a F to an A. Across most of the district, STAAR scores went up, including in areas like fourth and sixth grade reading and eighth grade math. Parker herself noted some of the improvements in her recent presentation.

Miles pursued specific reforms, and Parker provided a list of her own. They include placing high-quality instruction in every classroom; prioritizing academic interventions for struggling students; and improving the evaluation of teachers so students have effective teachers whose compensation reflects their instructional abilities.

But here’s the deal: As important as it is for Fort Worth ISD students to enjoy the determined backing of their city’s mayor, a network of adults saying enough is enough, and a clear set of strategies for schools to follow, none of this will matter without a school board and administrators who will enact policies that equip students with the skills and knowledge for a life of purpose.

Successful governance starts with electing trustees who are committed to strategies that improve student learning and taking advantage of state policies that can help districts pursue that mission. It involves hiring superintendents who are devoted to translating proven fundamentals like the science of reading into classroom practices. And it requires aligning district resources to those essentials.

At the same time, good governance means district leaders and board members being open to state accountability measures that federal law requires. Notably, Fort Worth ISD did not join Dallas ISD and Houston ISD, along with others like IDEA Public Schools, in calling for the TEA to release the district’s rankings for the 2023-2024 school year. A state court has stopped the public release of annual state rankings, although districts themselves can release their state scores.

It’s hard to know how to improve if you don’t have the evidence that independent, objective state exams provide.

Parker has looked at the data for her city’s largest school district and decided she has seen enough. May her example inspire other leaders around the state to do the same for their students and their communities. Our real education priority should be improving student achievement.

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