Lake Worth ISD will have a state-appointed board lead its schools after one of its campuses earned a failing rating five years in a row.
By Jessica Ma and Milla Surjadi
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
The Texas Education Agency will remove Lake Worth ISD’s elected school board and superintendent, and appoint a board of managers to govern the district, Education Commissioner Mike Morath said on Thursday.
The decision comes after one of Lake Worth ISD’s campuses — Marilyn Miller Language Academy — earned its fifth consecutive “unacceptable” academic accountability rating for the 2024-25 school year.
A takeover means Morath will remove the district’s seven-member board of trustees and appoint a board of managers. He will also name a new superintendent. Mark Ramirez, a former associate superintendent from Dallas ISD, was named the district’s leader in May.
In a statement, Lake Worth ISD, which serves 3,200 students, acknowledged TEA’s decision, which it said “underscores the urgency of improving student outcomes.” The district said that input from parents and staff “will continue to matter.”
“We accept the TEA’s decision and view this as an opportunity to accelerate our progress,” Ramirez said in the news release. “We are committed to transparency, accountability and partnership as we work side-by-side with TEA to ensure lasting improvements for our students.”
Morath’s announcement marks the second state takeover in Tarrant County this year. In October, he announced a takeover of Fort Worth ISD, the second-largest district to undergo state intervention in Texas’ history.
Morath also announced the takeover of Beaumont ISD in southeast Texas and Connally ISD near Waco on Thursday.
In Lake Worth ISD’s Thursday release, officials touted its improvement plans underway, which include a turnaround model to boost academic outcomes in reading and math. The model includes adopting “high-quality instructional materials” across grades and setting up regular meetings for teachers to discuss lesson plans.
“The district is already seeing improvements in many areas due to these strategic approaches,” the statement said.
During the 2024-25 school year, each of Lake Worth ISD’s six campuses received an F or a C rating, Morath said in a Thursday letter to Ramirez and trustees.
Lake Worth ISD appealed TEA’s accountability rating for Lake Worth High School, which initially earned a 69. This week, the district won its appeal, and the school’s grade jumped to a 79, according to Ramirez.
Morath, who visited Lake Worth ISD in October, said the district has demonstrated a “chronic inability to support students to learn and achieve at high levels.” Across all grades and subjects, 22% of the district’s students are meeting grade level standards, which falls 28 percentage points below the state average, according to Morath.
“Lake Worth ISD’s low level of student achievement is a long-standing issue, predating the COVID-19 disruptions, and has gotten worse recently,” he said.
District leaders tried to fend off the threat of intervention in recent months.
In September, Lake Worth trustees approved goals that included raising all of the district’s schools’ ratings to a B or higher by June 2028 and improving third grade reading and math performance on State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, tests. They also aim to grow the percentage of graduates deemed college, career and military ready from 86% to 95% by December 2027.
In the coming weeks, the state agency will call for applications in the Lake Worth ISD community to join the board of managers and launch a search for a superintendent. Morath will also appoint a conservator to ensure the district supports its low-performing campuses and implements its turnaround plans.
A board of managers serves for two years. If the commissioner decides to extend the takeover, he can extend the board for two more years, according to state law.
The district is allowed to participate in an informal review, which has been scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Dec. 19 in Austin. The meeting, which is not open to the public, is an opportunity for the district to present information for the commissioner to consider, as he makes decisions regarding the board of managers and conservator.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
By Jessica Ma
Jessica Ma covers education at The Dallas Morning News. She previously had reporting stints at The Boston Globe, The Chicago Sun-Times and The Sacramento Bee. She is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, where she studied journalism, American studies and political science.
Milla Surjadi covers higher education for the Education Lab at The Dallas Morning News. She has previously reported for The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and Tampa Bay Times. She is a recent graduate of Duke University.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
