Now, as FWISD closed the campus in June<\/a>, Orozco expects Andrew to attend Dunbar High School next school year. She worries the transition will come before he is ready.<\/p>\n \u201cIf my son goes to the regular high school, it will be so hard for him,\u201d Orozco said, in Spanish. \u201cHow will he understand a teacher?\u201d<\/p>\n That question sits at the center of Fort Worth ISD\u2019s broader redesign of language services, which moves support for newcomer and emergent bilingual students away from centralized programs and closer to neighborhood campuses<\/a>.<\/p>\n The redesign comes as students who need language support make up about 42% of FWISD\u2019s enrollment, up from about 34% five years earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n The district also reported enrolling more than twice as many immigrant students over that span, increasing from 2,455 students in 2020 to 5,401 in 2025.<\/p>\n What languages do FWISD families report at home?<\/p>\n Fort Worth ISD had 29,555 emergent bilingual and English learner students in 2024-25, representing about 42% of the district\u2019s enrollment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Families report a student\u2019s home language during registration. If a language other than English is reported, the student takes a language assessment, according to FWISD materials.<\/p>\n FWISD\u2019s top languages, according to 2026 home language survey data, were: English, Spanish, Swahili, Dari, Pashto\/Pushto, Kinyarwanda, Farsi\/Persian, Arabic, Burmese and French.<\/p>\n Former International Newcomer Academy family engagement coordinator Faiha Al-Atrash said the campus also served students speaking languages including Vietnamese, Croatian and Tigrinya in recent years.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, staffing numbers moved in the other direction. FWISD reported employing 787 bilingual or English-as-a-second-language teachers in 2025, down from 870 in 2020.<\/p>\n The shift reflects the closure of International Newcomer Academy but extends beyond a single school. Under the new model, district leaders say students will learn English as they receive grade-level instruction in reading, math, science and social studies.<\/p>\n Educators and bilingual education professors say that approach can work \u2014 but only if campuses have trained teachers, clear plans and wraparound support ready when students arrive. Parents and professors are not convinced the new approach can be built in one summer.<\/p>\n They say the district\u2019s assurances leave uncertainty about staffing, teacher training, multilingual communication and support for students who barely have enough English skills to navigate a school day.<\/p>\n FWISD spokespeople did not respond to questions on what staffing and training will be in place during the transition and how the district plans to measure success under the new model.<\/p>\n In information posted about the redesign on the district website, FWISD leaders said students will receive structured conversations, clear language objectives and collaborative learning with peers. Teachers will be supported with lessons created by bilingual professionals and experts certified in English as a second language, materials in multiple languages and ongoing coaching, according to the district.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not removing support; we are delivering it directly where students are receiving content instruction,\u201d the district said in its redesign materials.<\/p>\n Parents look for answers Orozco is still trying to understand what all of that will mean for her son.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a new country for us,\u201d said Orozco, whose family came to the U.S. from the Mexican state of Colima. \u201cThis is new people, new culture and the language.\u201d<\/p>\n Her daughter attends Como Success Academy, an alternative high school where Orozco said she receives language support. Como Success Academy enrolled 411 immigrant students during the 2024-25 school year, according to district data.<\/p>\n Dunbar is closer to home. But Orozco said when she first asked about language support there, she was told the campus did not have the same type of program as Como Success Academy.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think he is ready (for Dunbar),\u201d Orozco said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t know the language.\u201d<\/p>\n That does not mean a campus-based model cannot serve students well, said Ilana Umansky, a University of Oregon professor whose research focuses on students who are immigrants, multilingual and classified as English learners.<\/p>\n Research does not clearly show that a centralized newcomer academy is better at serving these students than traditional campuses, Umansky said. What matters most is whether they receive the support that research has consistently shown is important: bilingual education when possible, wraparound services, teachers with specialized preparation and strong social opportunities that help students feel part of a school community.<\/p>\n That is why the way in which the district carries out the change matters, she said. A centralized campus can more easily concentrate trained teachers, community partners and student services. When services are spread across multiple campuses, quality can vary.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that the district couldn\u2019t make really strong newcomer supports at the school level,\u201d Umansky said. \u201cBut if they had really strong newcomer supports in the academy model and they\u2019re closing that down without a plan for making sure that they\u2019re going to have those supports at the school-site level, then that would raise some red flags for me.\u201d<\/p>\n The district\u2019s model also reflects a common critique of newcomer academies in the eyes of administrators: Separating students from traditional campuses can limit access to rigorous courses, electives and broader school experiences.<\/p>\n FWISD Superintendent Peter Licata said during an April board meeting that the district\u2019s redesign addresses that concern by placing students in grade-level classrooms alongside peers, while building language support into instruction.\u00a0<\/p>\n The majority of FWISD newcomer students are already enrolled in comprehensive middle and high schools, not at International Newcomer Academy, Licata said previously. District leaders have said expanding campus-based support will allow FWISD to reach more students closer to home.<\/p>\n Immigrant students are spread across FWISD campuses serving sixth through ninth graders \u2014 well beyond International Newcomer Academy \u2014 according to district data. Campuses enrolled 1,846 immigrant students during the 2025-26 school year, compared with 229 at International Newcomer Academy.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the data clearly reflects, for many years the vast majority of newcomer students have been successfully served at their comprehensive middle and high school campuses. These students have access to rigorous grade-level instruction, electives, fine arts, athletics, extracurricular activities, college and career readiness pathways, and the full range of academic, language, and student support services available at their school,\u201d district spokespeople wrote in a written statement.<\/p>\n The argument from Licata and his staff is reasonable in theory but depends on preparation, said Elizet Kneisler, a University of Texas at Austin professor whose work focuses on bilingual education and dual language programming.\u00a0<\/p>\n What is the difference between a newcomer and immigrant student?<\/p>\n Newcomer student: A recently arrived student served through a language instruction program, such as bilingual or English-as-a-second-language support is described as a newcomer. In Texas, newcomer centers are intended as short-term placements and students generally should not remain in them for more than two years.<\/p>\n Immigrant student: A federal data category used for reporting and funding. It includes students ages 3-21 who were not born in a U.S. state and have not attended U.S. schools for more than three full academic years as immigrant students. The category does not describe a student\u2019s legal immigration status.<\/p>\n Centralized newcomer programs provide intensive language development, culturally responsive support and staff who are trained for the specific needs of recently arrived students, Kneisler said. Traditional campuses can replicate parts of that, she said, but only with sustained training and collaboration across teachers, principals and support staff.<\/p>\n The broader shift could also affect emergent bilingual students who never attended International Newcomer Academy, the professors said. Kneisler said the kind of training needed for newcomer students \u2014 scaffolding, language objectives, culturally responsive teaching and opportunities for students to use their full language skills \u2014 is not limited to one campus or group of students.<\/p>\n All students have to learn the specialized language of school subjects, from science vocabulary to the wording of math problems, Kneisler said. But for newcomer and emergent bilingual students, that challenge is greater because they are learning English at the same time they are expected to master grade-level content.\u00a0<\/p>\n Newcomer students need help with more than vocabulary, Kneisler said. They are learning a new language, a new school system and, often, a new culture. Even cafeteria routines or classroom expectations can be unfamiliar.<\/p>\n That is why the district should not think about the transition as simply moving students from one building to another, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t create a transition plan just in the summer,\u201d Kneisler said.<\/p>\n Former FWISD language director sees a different kind of shift<\/p>\n Suann Claunch, FWISD\u2019s former English-as-a-second-language director, said the district has moved and closed language centers before, but those decisions were generally driven by where students lived and where resources were needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was not, she said, a blanket elimination of centralized support.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of the time, we would move students to another center, so they were still getting the support,\u201d Claunch said.<\/p>\n Claunch worked in FWISD for 25 years before retiring in 2019. International Newcomer Academy grew out of earlier district efforts to serve students who arrived with little English proficiency, including refugees from Vietnam and, later, students from other parts of the world.<\/p>\n Some students arrived with strong schooling from their home countries. Others, especially girls from places with limited access to education, arrived with little or no formal schooling, Claunch said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to start with the very basics, but you can\u2019t make it childlike,\u201d Claunch said. \u201cIt was very humbling to put a pencil in a 15-year-old\u2019s hand and try to get them to be able to express themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Integrating language lessons into content instruction takes training, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n At International Newcomer Academy, teachers taught English through academic content, Claunch said. A science lesson was also a language lesson. Students learned words like \u201ccell\u201d or \u201cmitosis\u201d while learning the science concept, then practiced speaking and writing about it.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t just plop these kids in a classroom across the city with a teacher who\u2019s struggling, honestly, to do what the state\u2019s asking her to do or him to do already,\u201d Claunch said.<\/p>\n Faiha Al-Atrash, International Newcomer Academy\u2019s family engagement coordinator, said students and families like Orozco\u2019s are worried about what comes next.<\/p>\n Families have been told students will go to their home campuses, she said. She worries those campuses will not have the same level of support, especially for families who speak languages other than English or Spanish.<\/p>\n International Newcomer Academy has served families who speak Arabic, Dari, Pashto, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Indonesian and many other languages, she said. Students require more than classroom support, she said. Families also need help navigating housing, transportation, school communication and basic needs.<\/p>\n FWISD leaders have said the district plans to strengthen multilingual communication with families and provide targeted support and staff at campuses with higher numbers of newcomer students.<\/p>\n Concerns reach dual language families<\/p>\n The debate reaches beyond families whose children attend International Newcomer Academy.<\/p>\n Glen Hutchinson, whose children attend North Hi Mount Elementary School\u2019s dual language program, spoke against the academy\u2019s closure during an April board meeting because he worries about what the change signals for the district\u2019s broader commitment to multilingual students.<\/p>\n His wife\u2019s first language is Spanish. His is English. They chose dual language because they wanted their children to learn in both languages and see Spanish valued in an academic setting.<\/p>\n He said he is not opposed to changing programs if the district can show students will be better served. He sees potential benefits in newcomer students attending neighborhood schools with access to more classes and activities. But the staff cuts and lack of detail made him wonder.<\/p>\n \u201cHow is this eventually going to impact the dual language program at my school?\u201d Hutchinson said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Orozco\u2019s issue is whether Andrew will have someone at Dunbar who knows how to help him understand assignments, speak with teachers and keep learning while he learns English.<\/p>\n She saw progress at International Newcomer Academy. His teachers sent notes that he was doing well. He is learning more words. He is trying.<\/p>\n But a few months is not enough time, she said. Andrew isn\u2019t prepared for the everyday conversations school requires.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not the only ones,\u201d Orozco said, in Spanish.<\/p>\n Editor\u2019s note: The interview with parent Liz Orozco was conducted in Spanish and translated into English by the reporter.<\/p>\n Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Andrew Garcia, left, stands with his mother, Liz Orozco. Orozco said Andrew began reading and understanding more English at Fort Worth ISD\u2019s International Newcomer Academy, but she worries he is not ready to transition to Dunbar High School after the academy closed in June. (Courtesy | Liz Orozco)<\/p>\n