Fort Worth ISD permanently hires Karen Molinar as superintendent
FWISD to announce new permanent superintendent today
The Fort Worth ISD school board will formally vote to hire Karen Molinar as the new superintendent today.
FORT WORTH, Texas - The Fort Worth Independent School District’s board of trustees formally voted on Tuesday to hire Karen Molinar as the new superintendent.
Superintendent Karen Molinar
The backstory:
Molinar has served as the interim superintendent since early October 2024.
She’s no stranger to Fort Worth ISD. She’s been with the district for nearly 30 years.
Most recently, she served as the deputy superintendent of administrative services.
Fort Worth ISD names lone finalist for superintendent
Fort Worth ISD trustees have named the interim superintendent as the lone finalist for the permanent position.
She was named the line finalist after the district paid its former Superintendent, Dr. Angelica Ramsey, nearly $1 million to leave her position.
Ramsey voluntarily resigned last September after the mayor of Fort Worth and community members criticized the district’s academic performance.
What they're saying:
"I'm just very honored to accept this role because Fort Worth is my home. It's also Fort Worth ISD, you're my family and I'm going to strive every day to make you proud, to build a better district for our students," Molinar said after trustees approved her hiring.
They had to wait the state-mandated 21 days after naming her a lone finalist.
Fort Worth ISD’s academic struggles
Fort Worth ISD's plan to solve lagging reading scores
Fort Worth ISD formally launched the hiring process for a new superintendent. The district also approved a plan to help solve their lagging reading scores problem. Here are the changes coming to FWISD.
Parents are hoping Molinar will help bolster student academic achievement, especially when it comes to reading.
In January, the district approved a literacy plan to address a disturbing fact – less than half of all Fort Worth ISD students can read at grade level.
Less than half of Fort Worth ISD students can read at grade level, district reveals
Fort Worth ISD is moving forward with a new strategic plan aimed at improving lackluster reading scores. Here are its 4 main priorities.
What they're saying:
"By 2029 or before, a ninth grader should be a ninth grader. A tenth grader should be a tenth grader," Molinar said as the plan was approved. "How are we providing those supports? And, of course, budget alignment to support literacy. It doesn't mean we don't love math, science, social studies. But we are not going to be successful in those areas until we support literacy first."
Trustees acknowledged that they’ve been in this position before but said they want to do things differently.
This new strategic plan comes after the board rejected the one presented by the former superintendent in the spring.
The Source: The information in this story comes from the Fort Worth Independent School District, school board agendas, and past news coverage.