Steven Poole of the United Educators Association scours Fort Worth ISD teacher retention data every year. 

Usually, he recognizes that teachers resign, or retire, for a variety of reasons that have little to do with their employer. A younger teacher may be starting a family, or an older teacher could be ready to bring their education career to a close.

Looking over this year’s data, Poole saw the numbers showed fewer teachers resigned this past school year than in years past. While an average of more than 800 Fort Worth ISD teachers have left every year since 2017, 772 teachers resigned or retired last school year.

While the numbers look good, Poole said, less teachers are leaving the district organically than in years’ past. 

“Those choosing to leave, they’re just frustrated with the district,” Poole said. 

The district’s leadership is in flux following the resignation of Superintendent Angélica Ramsey, whose two-year tenure ended Sept. 30. If Fort Worth ISD’s eventual new leadership wants solutions to address a growing frustration among teachers and stagnant academic performance, educators said, listening to them is step one.

‘Frustrated’

Underneath a grand white canopy in a banquet space at the Fort Worth Zoo, amid a boisterous round of applause and a smiling crowd, Amanda Inay was dressed in her best. 

On that day, the then-Rufino Mendoza Elementary School teacher won $750, a few gift baskets and, fighting back tears, accepted an award for being the 2023 elementary district teacher of the year.

“It doesn’t matter, all the accolades and the awards,” Inay told the Report at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year. “This is going to be the best year.”

By the end of that school year, Inay’s time with the district was over. 

She joined 771 other district teachers who either resigned from their positions or retired during — or in the months following — the 2023-24 school year, according to data garnered from two open records requests filed by the Report. 

While the number of teachers who left the district last year is lower than in years’ past, what’s different is why, Poole and Inay said. 

Inay left because of the constant “bullying” she felt she experienced over the past year. Other teachers have left or considered leaving in recent years due to discipline issues in classrooms, little autonomy and lack of support that’s only gotten worse, educators said.

Previously, teachers left for more organic reasons, Poole said. While teachers still do leave the district for reasons like family growth or movement, that is not as prevalent as it once was, Inay and Poole said. 

‘That’s not our job’

While some teachers have complained of feeling overburdened by district mandates and other issues, Fort Worth ISD has improved its teacher retention, district officials said. In creating an office of employee retention and engagement, administrators are increasingly focused on retaining teachers.

“It’s important to note that the views expressed by the teachers who have spoken … do not necessarily represent the experiences of our broader teaching community,” a district spokesperson wrote in an email to the Report. “Many have had positive experiences working within the district.”

Between fall 2017 and spring 2023, an average of 873 teachers left the district annually — nearly 100 more than the number that left in the past school year. 

However, during the 2022-23 school year, the district employed 4,927 teachers compared to the 5,569 teachers employed during the 2019-20 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency. That factor could play into the data, Inay said.

And, while the number of teachers resigning or retiring from the district has stayed consistent since the 2017-18 school year, early retirements are on the rise, Poole told the Report. More experienced teachers are leaving the district earlier in their careers, he added. 

While some would have stayed in their positions for maybe an additional five years, current working conditions have pushed them out sooner, Poole said. 

One factor contributing to this trend is what educators describe as increasing administrative overreach. Some teachers have expressed feeling inundated with paperwork and forced to adhere to rigid curriculum guidelines, leaving little room for creativity and individualized teaching, according to previous Fort Worth Report coverage.

Many feel they’re being micromanaged out of the classroom, said Meredith Bowman, who’s taught P.E. with the district for 10 years and has previously served as president for the Association of Texas Professional Educators. Give teachers autonomy and most will then feel confident in their careers, she said. 

There’s not as much of that today, Poole said. Fort Worth ISD officials disagree.

“The district recognizes that fostering teacher autonomy is essential to cultivating a thriving learning environment,” the district said. “While administrators provide guidance to ensure alignment with district and state standards, FWISD also prioritizes professional judgment in the classroom.”

Teachers are encouraged to customize their instructional approaches to meet the unique needs of their students, the district said.

Inay and other teachers have not had that same experience, she said. 

“Teachers are having to do all the little things,” Inay said. “That’s not our job — it’s to teach.”

Bowman also wished the district provided campuses with more reading specialists and instructional coaches to support them in the classroom. 

“If you don’t have the support or the resources you need to make an impact in your classroom, you’re going to get frustrated,” Poole said.

‘Do more with less’

While Inay initially had high hopes entering the 2023-24 school year, she quickly found herself ensnared in what she described as a “toxic” environment. Once celebrated by the district as a role model, she felt stifled by campus-level decisions and what she described as a “complete lack of support” by the district.

When she began to voice concerns over certain campus-level changes, she noticed a change in how she was treated by administrators. Her concerns weren’t listened to, she said, and she no longer felt valued.

“I was trying to advocate for my families, and instead of being heard, I felt punished,” Inay said.

Inay said she isn’t the only teacher experiencing what feels like personal hostility in response to voicing concerns. Bowman shared her observations of similar experiences when co-workers escalated classroom management problems to leadership, only to see them exacerbated by inadequate administrative support.

“We’re told to do more with less,” Bowman said. “We have students coming to school with trauma and behavioral issues, but we don’t have the resources or support to help them effectively.”

Fellow teachers and co-workers who have left the district recently cited discipline issues — and the district’s general lack of responsiveness to them — as a major catalyst, Bowman said. The issues have grown worse in recent years, she and Inay said, leading to constant classroom disruption.

When discipline issues persist, blame is often placed on teachers before the district tries to address the root of the disruption or consequences are levied, Bowman said. Poole said the district could take a different approach.

“It first starts with the attitude that we’re not going to allow extreme behavior and disruption in our schools,” Poole said. “Then it’s getting parents, and teachers, involved to address the needs of the misbehaving student.”

Fort Worth ISD pointed to its discipline handbook as providing clear guidelines for handling issues and emphasized that teachers receive training to manage student behavior at the beginning of the school year.

“Administrators review and address behavior referrals throughout the day,” the district said, in a statement. “They also follow up with teachers after discipline incidents.”

There are also opportunities for teachers to observe their colleagues and learn successful strategies for maintaining classroom order, the district said.

The current sense of a punitive work environment is part of what has driven educators out of the district in recent years, Bowman and Poole said. In the past, communication was easier.

“No one’s going into buildings and sitting down with teachers,” Bowman said. “They’re not working with us. None of that (collaboration) is happening.” 

It can — and should — be happening, she said. Without those conversations, teachers don’t feel valued, she said.

‘The ripple effect’

A pattern of teachers leaving in the middle of the school year has emerged in recent years, Poole said. On average, since the 2017-18 school year, 177 teachers resigned or retired during the school year. During the 2023-24 school year, 174 teachers left the district during those months. In proportion to previous years — during which more teachers resigned overall — that number represents an increase, Poole said.

The ripple effect of those resignations are felt in the classroom, Poole said.

When teachers leave mid-year or retire unexpectedly, students are left in a state of flux, he said. If a teacher leaves in January, for example, a substitute must take their place. It could take a substitute teacher weeks, or even months, to get to know their students and stabilize a classroom after a teacher exits. 

The turnover is especially harmful in underperforming schools, where students already face significant challenges outside the classroom, Inay said.

“These kids need consistency,” she said. 

So, where are these teachers going? Many find positions as corporate trainers, Poole said. Some may leave the teaching field altogether. 

While all of this has become more common across the country since the COVID-19 pandemic, Fort Worth ISD is responsible for building confidence among its teachers, Poole said. 

And, Inay wondered, does the district know why teachers are leaving? Exit surveys, which could provide valuable data about the reasons behind teacher resignations and retirements, are often incomplete or missing altogether, she said.

“I never even got an exit survey,” Inay said.

A new exit survey was created in March as an option for employees leaving the district, the district said. 

Employees who are leaving the district and submit the online resignation form are provided a link to complete the exit survey and are reminded if it is not completed within a designated time frame.

Inay does not remember seeing either email and didn’t receive any other communication with the district, she said. The Report has filed a records request for copies of the district’s previous and current exit surveys and responses.

‘Here for the kids’

Inay left the district for a few key reasons, she told the Report. She likened her relationship with the district to an “abusive marriage.” 

When her Fort Worth ISD students could no longer be the focus, she knew her attention must go elsewhere. She believes that her reasons are similar to those of many other teachers who also have chosen to leave, she said. 

Inay said she will continue to speak up for families and teachers who hope educators will be heard and that academic achievement will improve. The parent of two sons enrolled in Fort Worth ISD, Inay may seek a new role with the district next May: school board member. 

“I’m not going to be bought or sold, or won over,” Inay said. “I’m here for the kids.”

On Monday, Sept. 23, Inay stood in front of a group of students. An interactive touchscreen board framed her in the background.

Inside Rocketship Public Schools, a nonprofit network of charter schools, and its Rocketship Explore Elementary School campus in east Fort Worth, Inay was where she felt she was supposed to be, she said — literally and mentally.

That day, beneath her classroom’s low white ceiling, surrounded by bright decorations and wide-eyed students, she taught about the Renaissance.

When her students graduate and can no longer attend Rocketship, which serves only K-5 students, Inay hopes Fort Worth ISD, and its teachers, are ready for those who come.

Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @MatthewSgroi1.

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