State-appointed Superintendent Peter Licata wants area businesses to do more than hire Fort Worth ISD graduates.
He wants them in FWISD schools before students ever reach graduation.
Licata pitched a deeper partnership between the district and the city’s business community Thursday during a Fort Worth Chamber event. He called for companies to sponsor career academies, provide internships for students and give teachers opportunities to learn firsthand how industries are changing.
“If we’re going to go ahead and open up a new construction academy, which is something I want to do, what construction company is going to sponsor that facility?” Licata said.
Licata joined Fort Worth Chamber President and CEO Steve Montgomery for a discussion moderated by Bobby Ahdieh, a member of the Fort Worth ISD board of managers.
The issue has become increasingly urgent for the chamber, Montgomery said. As it developed a new strategic plan, Montgomery said business and community leaders identified workforce development as Fort Worth’s most pressing issue. They also called for greater employer involvement in schools and expanded higher education opportunities.
Businesses deciding whether to move, expand or remain in Fort Worth are evaluating the quality and availability of workers, Montgomery said. If graduates enter the workforce without necessary skills, employers absorb the cost of additional training.
“A high-performing school district is truly one of the most important infrastructure pieces in our local economy,” Montgomery said.
Building that workforce starts with something more basic, Licata said: reading and math. In Fort Worth ISD, 41% of third graders met grade level in reading during the 2025-26 school year and 38% did so in math.
And, while Fort Worth ISD had 17 campuses earn an A overall in the state’s 2026 accountability ratings, just 12 earned an A in student achievement, which measures students’ academic performance and, for high schools, college, career and military readiness and graduation.
Licata described what he called the “Saturday dilemma” — a student graduates from high school Friday night, then wakes up Saturday with a diploma that does not necessarily guarantee the student can read, do math, enter college, join the military or begin a career.
College, career and military readiness, student attendance and putting a consistent teacher in every classroom are among the measures Licata said the district must watch alongside academic results. Student attendance is currently running around 86% to 87%, he said.
Licata also defended the district’s decision to begin the school year with uncertified teachers rather than leave positions vacant.
Fort Worth ISD began the year with zero teaching vacancies but about 260 uncertified teachers, Licata said. He argued that keeping the same teacher with students from the first day while helping that educator earn certification is preferable to relying on a substitute for weeks or months.
“It was a decision by me, and I’ll make it every day of the week,” Licata said.
But Licata said schools cannot prepare students for every changing industry on their own.
He wants businesses to help expand opportunities beyond traditional career and technical education programs. Technology, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity education, he said, should not be limited to magnet or specialized campuses. He also wants medical programs available more broadly at high schools.
Students could gain experience through internships, while teachers could participate in externships inside businesses to learn how workplaces, technology and industry practices have changed.
A similar model already exists locally. This summer, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County and InterLink Inc. placed career and technical education teachers with local employers for 10-day externships in industries including construction, aerospace, manufacturing and hospitality. The program, funded by the Texas Workforce Commission, served up to 45 educators.
“If you’re in the classroom for 15 years, things have changed,” Licata said.
Employers are looking for graduates with more than diplomas, Montgomery said. They need workers who can communicate, collaborate, solve problems and adapt as technology changes.
Businesses are interested in internships, apprenticeships and teacher externships, he said, but many — particularly smaller employers — do not know how to get involved. The chamber could help create larger, established programs that businesses can easily join rather than forcing each company to build one on its own, he said.
Licata said the district also has work to do internally.
He wants Fort Worth ISD to build systems strong enough to survive changes in superintendents and boards. That includes a regimented instructional model at struggling campuses and an organization that eventually becomes thinner as those systems take hold.
“The reality is, if a system has enough processes, it becomes the machine,” Licata said.
The same long-term commitment is needed outside the district, Montgomery said. Businesses cannot become engaged during a crisis and disappear once leadership changes or academic results improve, he said.
The business community’s support, he said, must become “much, much bigger than any one superintendent or one board.”
Montgomery pointed to himself as an example of how disconnected business and civic leaders have been from the district. Despite years of involvement in Fort Worth politics, he said he could not name a Fort Worth ISD school board member before the state intervention.
“That means I’ve been neglectful in my duties to be engaged and be a responsible citizen,” Montgomery said. “We all have some ownership here.”
Licata ended with a similar request.
The seventh grader sitting in a Fort Worth ISD classroom today will graduate in about five years, he told business leaders. By then, local employers will need that student ready for an economy that is continuing to grow and change.
“Please invest in our seventh graders and our sixth graders and our first graders and our ninth graders,” Licata said. “Because it will pay dividends.”
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.
Disclosure: FWISD manager Pete Geren leads the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. FWISD manager Laurie George is a member of the Report’s reader advisory council. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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