In the weeks leading up to the announcement that the Texas Education Agency is taking over the Fort Worth Independent School District, parents and community members worried the district would roll out the same kinds of tightly scripted lessons leaders in Houston ISD implemented during a similar takeover there.
But Fort Worth ISD is already using scripted lessons in many subject areas, district officials told the Star-Telegram. District leaders developed a series of lessons over the summer and rolled them out at the beginning of the current school year.
Fort Worth ISD officials say the move is designed to relieve overburdened teachers of some of their responsibilities, allowing them more time to focus on students. But some teachers say the change strips them of autonomy and doesn’t allow them the flexibility to give students the personalized instruction they need.
Fort Worth ISD rolls out scripted lessons
The new scripted lessons are a part of Fort Worth ISD’s new instructional framework. Each lesson includes a slide show presentation and a script teachers are expected to follow. The script is detailed, teachers told the Star-Telegram — it outlines words teachers are expected to emphasize and time markers they’re expected to meet…