FORT WORTH, Texas — The new superintendent for the Fort Worth Independent School District is quickly earning the respect and support of educators, parents and students throughout the district.
Dr. Angelica Ramsey is not the type of leader to sit behind a desk to run the district. Ramsey has visited so many schools since starting her new job she has to look at her calendar to keep count.
Ramsey now has a firsthand look at what's happening inside Clifford Davis Elementary School in Fort Worth. One of the focuses is raising the bar on learning math. It's all part of an performance improvement plan.
Clifford Davis Elementary is one of Fort Worth ISD's underperforming schools on a mission with support from Ramsey.
"I am not all that concerned about test scores, I am more concerned about what and how our students are learning," said Ramsey.
Ramsey makes it a point to meet as many principals as possible, teachers, school staff, parents and students every week.
Not only is her schedule packed with school visits, but her calendar also goes far beyond school hours. Ramsey can even be seen at district extracurricular events like after school programs, sporting events on weekends and student-centered events.
"So, I spend two days a week out at schools because for me, it's really important to want to stay connected. I have a teacher hat on always and to be in classrooms seeing what our teachers are doing every day to see students" said Ramsey. "Our teachers, our support staff, our principals, they can have open conversations with me."
Clifford Davis Elementary Principal Ebony Key escorted Ramsey to classrooms Monday morning to meet teachers and students.
How well teachers and students are doing here is no secret.
Key also showed Ramsey progress charts posted in hallways. Key uses the charts to help show the schools' struggle to get better.
It's also her way of being transparent to staff, parents and even the students. The color codes on the charts help students learn and see their progress on their road to success.
"It's almost like a road map," said Key. "So, you see where we're starting, and then we're going to see where we end up. And it's a measurement piece."
According to the nation's report card released on Monday, the math average score for Texas students in 2022 was 239, that's down from the 2019 average of 244.
The percentage of Texas students who performed at or above Basic level was 78% in 2022, down from 84% in 2019.
Texas is not alone in the struggle.
The national average score declines in mathematics with the largest declines ever recorded. In fact, according to the nation's report card, no large U.S. urban school districts recorded improvements in math, period.
The report also indicates test scores for students of color suffering the most, an expected challenge for Ramsey after the pandemic.
Said Ramsey: "It's not anything that we weren't aware of because, again, it just exacerbated the societal issues."
FWISD principals will have one-on-one opportunities with Ramsey as she visits campus across the school district.
Ramsey is interested in learning from her school leaders about what they need from her as superintendent to improve their campuses.
Key is in her second year at Clifford Davis Elementary and never expected such a visit from the superintendent.
"My role is to provide support and to remove barriers for our teachers, to make sure that our teachers have everything that they need and to make sure that they're well-funded, that the schools have the staff that they need," said Ramsey. "That's my role, also my role to listen to our teachers and to ask them, what do you need from us so that you can be successful?"
School visits are not new to Ramsey. During her last week in her previous district, Ramsey maintained her campus visits right up to her last days before joining FWISD.