Fort Worth (WBAP/KLIF News) – Fort Worth’s 87,000 students returned to the city’s 143 schools Monday. Fort Worth has labeled five schools, “leadership academies,” that will work with kids from low income households.
Monday morning, Superintendent Kent Scribner and Mayor Betsy Price greeted students outside John T. White Elementary School in East Ft. Worth.
“In these schools, we’re serving a student population where many of the families are struggling,” Scribner says. “We want to support those families.”
At John T. White Elementary, students will stay an hour later, receiving an extra hour of math and reading until 4 p.m. Students then receive one-on-one tutoring and can participate in fine arts and athletics.
“Education disrupts poverty,” Scribner says. “If we want to improve our students future, they must be educated.”
Students are served dinner before leaving at 6 p.m.
Ft. Worth ISD has also been holding meetings with community groups to alleviate concerns over the implementation of the state’s ban on “sanctuary cities.”
“They don’t need to be scared,” says Mayor Betsy Price. “We’re here to serve these kids, no matter who they are, particularly our Spanish-speaking population, in light of all the dialogue over SB4.”
Price says the meetings aimed to make families feel more comfortable.
“Our police officers are not going to stop their parents and tear them apart,” she says. “There are so many rumors. I would say to our parents, ‘Get educated, but bring your child to school.'”
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