Fort Worth’s state-appointed board of managers has voted to close the International Newcomer Academy, the district’s only campus focused on newly arrived refugee and immigrant students in grades 6 through 9. After a packed, emotional public meeting, officials confirmed that INA students will head to neighborhood schools next fall. Families and teachers say the move risks dismantling a tight web of language support, community ties and wraparound services that many newcomer families have come to depend on.
Board vote and district rationale
In late April, the board voted unanimously to shutter the campus and approve related staffing cuts as part of a broader facilities and staffing realignment across Fort Worth ISD. Superintendent Peter Licata framed the closure as an opportunity to plug newcomer students into the electives and extracurriculars that larger campuses can offer, while folding English as a Second Language supports into day-to-day instruction. Managers cited enrollment and performance trends as key factors in their recommendation, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Parents and teachers push back
Dozens of parents and teachers filled the board room, many holding signs and prepared remarks, urging managers to keep INA open. They warned that sending students into mainstream campuses could leave the most vulnerable behind. One parent, speaking to reporters, summed up the mood with a gut-punch of a line: “Our babies are flying away.”
Teachers, some in matching shirts, told leaders they feared losing a specialized environment built for students who are learning English while adjusting to a new country. They pressed the board to spell out a much clearer roadmap for where students and staff will land and how services will follow them, as reported by The Dallas Morning News.
Enrollment and costs behind the decision…