New partner for national center

Fort Worth Independent School District is the latest partner in a national center at Peabody that aims to identify programs, practices, processes and policies that make some high schools more effective at reaching low-performing students.

Fort Worth Independent School District, or FWISD, officially joined the National Center on Scaling Up Effective Schools at Peabody in April. Other center partners are Florida State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Education Development Center headquartered in Newton, Mass., and Broward County Schools in Florida.

“FWISD is working to improve student learning and achievement by improving the rigor and quality of instruction in classrooms rather than relying on short-term strategies and gimmicks to improve test scores,” said Thomas Smith, center director and associate professor of public policy and education at Peabody. “We are thrilled to team up with them in this effort.

“By the conclusion of the center’s work, we will have developed, implemented and tested new processes that other districts will be able to use to scale up effective practices within the context of their own goals and unique circumstances,” Smith said.