The facts
For the families of De Zavala, this is not an emotional issue. It’s the challenge of a district willfully suppressing facts.
We have grounded ourselves in data — all the data. We have asked district leaders for a transparent, data-driven formula and process that will hold up under legal scrutiny. Information that anyone could use and arrive at the same conclusion. In spite of all the money, time, and task force fanfare, the Facilities Master Plan does not deliver a clear view of decisions based on defensible data and process.
This is not an emotional issue for our families. We are trying to help leaders with a track record of failing our kids, not make another mistake. We agree, there are hard decisions ahead. Yet, we stand firm that there are hard, smart decisions and hard, misguided ones.
We urge the trustees of Fort Worth ISD to consider the risk in shuttering greatness and, instead, aspiring for mediocrity.
Facts in the face of hard decisions.
We know school closures are inevitable in our district. We are urging the district to recognize the shortcomings of both data transparency and, most critically, improper stakeholder selection processes that resulted in inequitable recommendations.
Once you start messing with something that works, you’re not going to get it back. We’re imploring you to consider other options.
When our district is spiraling toward state intervention, our success stories are our lifelines. We need the courage to protect excellence.
We’ve asked to engage, we’ve asked the district for data, we’ve asked the district for transparency in process. What we’re getting is bad faith.
Transparency without accessibility does not represent equity. But true transparency and true equity has been an issue from the beginning.
The rampant inequity in our district is not inevitable and it’s not the responsibility of parents to fix, nor their burden to bear due to closures.
How can we solve an enrollment problem the district won’t let us solve? We’ve been misled by the district that there is flexibility.
How does a D-rated district close an A-rated school? There are hard smart decisions and there are hard misguided ones.
De Zavala being A-rated should benefit every student in our district but our leaders are managing a self-inflicted crisis.
Our A-rating is meaningful and it’s discouraging to think district and board leaders don’t feel access to high-quality education matters in FWISD.
It’s an open secret in our district that the inequality and resource hoarding is out of control. It’s created by attendance maps and policy this district has created. This inequality in our district is so extreme and its effects fall on families and communities in less advantaged schools. Today, those effects include school closures. Closures that are being characterized as tough choices and hard decisions for the district but, in fact, are wildly and disproportionately impacting lower income, Black and Latino campuses.
Parents and community members can’t redraw district boundaries to break up resource inequality on the west side. We can’t expand PreK and Kinder classes to improve enrollment. Only the district can fix the inequitable problems it has created.
Closing a top-performing and majority Title 1 school does not represent an equitable step on that journey towards improving equity.
Don’t just use the word equity, we ask you to center justice and equity in your plan for the future. To use all the data — not just the ratings, not just the loudest voices, not just outside funds, and not just enrollment.
A-rated De Zavala Elementary should be a blueprint for success, not a target for closure.
Today, after a non-transparent Task Force and Steering Committee selection process and all too coincidental outcome, the Fort Worth ISD Master Facility Plan is recommending the closure of De Zavala Elementary — one of the district’s exceptionally few A-rated schools.
Our newly D-rated district cannot afford to lose one of its only four A-rated elementary schools.
But it’s not just about ratings, the same way it’s not just about enrollment. Our Board of Trustees should be demanding that the district examine equity, economic justice, and every piece of data that impacts the the interests of our community’s youth.
Uncommon achievement
According to FWISD’s Overall District Accountability and Campus Comparison Report for the 2023 to 2024 School Year, the district estimated that De Zavala Elementary (91), Tanglewood Elementary (92), Overton Park (92), and Westpark (92) received similar overall accountability scores, or A-ratings, when all the reporting domains were appropriately weighted according to the Texas Education Agencies issued technical guidance to districts by FWISD.
This is especially important when considering the demographics of the populations these schools serve.
De Zavala serves an 77% free and reduced lunch for economically disadvantaged, eligible population (with 35% of the total school population designated Emergent Bilingual Learners and 59% designated at risk), whereas other A-rated schools in our district serve a dramatically lower free and reduced lunch eligible student population.
School closures impact communities.
In Fort Worth ISD “Facilities Master Planning” means closing schools in our community. When our district closes schools they force students and families to find new schools to attend.
Although school districts often use budget concerns to justify closing neighborhood schools, they disproportionately choose to close schools serving low-income communities and other communities that have experienced systemic disinvestment, thus further depriving those communities of the benefits of a neighborhood school (Source: Advancement Project).
Now, as the Fairmount neighborhood and Magnolia district thrive thanks to community investment and renewed vitality, the district is considering closing a cornerstone of that progress. A school that has increased home values, drawn in young families, and helped build a vibrant, diverse community. How does that make sense?
Closing De Zavala is not just an educational issue—it’s a community issue. Over the past five years, home values in Fairmount, where De Zavala is located, have risen by $122,000, bringing the median home price to $410,000—$64,000 more than the citywide median. This increase directly correlates with De Zavala’s rise in school accountability ratings, the growth of Magnolia and Near Southside, and proves that strong schools strengthen neighborhoods.
If Fort Worth ISD truly wants to attract and retain families, dismantling a proven, high-performing school is the wrong path forward.
District shortcomings.
Our district needs more than management, it needs leadership. As the Superintendent Report notes, Fort Worth ISD performance has been stagnant and, more critically, lags Texas state and urban peer districts by a wide margin. In April 2025, Fort Wort ISD received a D-rating.
We believe in the promise of Fort Worth ISD and the leadership of our new superintendent, but not if the trajectory is to close the glimmers of excellence we do have.
The decision ahead of Fort Worth ISD will beckon the trajectory of our city’s future. We are urging our district’s leaders to guide that future to be one of achievement—where we celebrate and replicate excellence in education, not shutter it for the students who need it most.
De Zavala is supporting district objectives outlined in the Instructional Support Redesign, March 2025.
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Grade-level Literacy
“Currently 35% of FWISD students are meeting grade-level performance standards in reading and 26% of FWISD students are meeting grade-level standards in math.”
Today, only 35% of FWISD students are meeting grade-level standards in reading. Let’s pause and put this another way: 65% of FWISD students are failing to read on grade-level. Let that sink in.
At De Zavala Elementary, 58% of DZ students perform at the meets or masters level in reading (MAP) and 39% of DZ students perform better than 60% of all students nationally.
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District Performance
“The current state of academic achievement for the District has been stagnant, below state average and significantly below urban Texas peer districts.”
At a state level, Only 27% of all Texas schools receive an A-rating and, among them, the average percentage of economically disadvantaged students is just 43%.
De Zavala Elementary stands out because it defies the odds—nearly 80% of its students are economically disadvantaged, yet they are excelling at the highest levels. De Zavala is 1 of 10 total schools in FWISD achieving an A-rating, and one of only 4 elementary schools to earn an A.
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Resource Allocation
“District resources must be redirected and aligned to support both instructional delivery and student achievement in order to accelerate student growth and make long-term sustainable improvements.”
De Zavala ensures our enrollment is bolstered by an average daily attendance 1.5% higher than the district average at 95.7%. Our 40% emergent bilingual student population contributes 10% increase in per student funds, as does 24% of our student population with an IEP/SPED designation. Obstructing access to high-quality educational options will not bring more resources into our district, but fewer.
We know Fort Worth ISD faces hard choices. We're not just saying “stop”—we’re saying “think.” Lead with heart, with equity, and with impact.
Don’t just manage the moment—shape our future.
LEADING WITH VISION
A blueprint for success
The parents, teachers, and Fairmount community believe De Zavala should be a blueprint for success in our district. Not a target for closure. We believe that until Fort Worth ISD has a clear and firm grasp of how De Zavala Elementary School has achieved this level of uncommon outcomes—and a proven means to replicate it—the district is in no position to throw away this one-of-a-kind school.
As the board has stated, achieving grade level literacy is not just an educational imperative but also a moral obligation. We believe the board must fulfill this moral obligation to our 77% Title 1 student population, where our teachers and administrators lead with empathy achieving a 0% suspension rate, and our De Zavala Eagles soar with 58% reading at or above grade level.
In our 2025 scorecard, we have only 1 area where we need support. We need this support from our community and our district. Don’t you want all students to have access to high-quality education here in Fort Worth? Who can you share this school of uncommon achievement with today?