The Clock Has Run Out: Fort Worth ISD Must Be Intervened Upon—Now. By Pastor Kyev Tatum.

The Clock Has Run Out: Fort Worth ISD Must Be Intervened Upon—Now. By Pastor Kyev Tatum, New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church of Fort Worth and the Ministers Justice Coalition of Texas

For more than two decades, we’ve been sounding the alarm.

We’ve marched. We’ve mentored. We’ve monitored and ministered to the children of Fort Worth ISD.

And for twenty years, we’ve been ignored.

We’ve watched an educational genocide take root—one that continues to devastate Black and Brown children in our community. We’ve watched classrooms turn into pipelines to prison. We’ve watched dreams wither at desks. We’ve buried our babies—not only from street violence, but from the violence of indifference.

Let that sink in: Our children are dying, and still, no one seems to care.

Since 2004, leaders like myself, the late Charles Davis, Frank Lawson, Sr., and Eddie Griffin have pursued every possible path—from charter schools to community protests—to bring attention to this system’s failure. We weren’t seeking power; we were seeking justice. And for that, we were demonized, sued, and silenced. Not for wrongdoing—but for daring to speak the truth. For demanding that Black children be treated as worthy of investment, protection, and opportunity.

We didn’t just protest—we produced. We created ROOTS Academy—Rearing Our Own To Succeed—built on the proven model of Texas Preparatory School in San Marcos, a charter school praised by the state. We brought solutions. But instead of support, we were shut out. Instead of partnership, we faced opposition.

We warned that the system was broken. And now, the results speak for themselves.

Leadership Academy at Forest Oak has received five consecutive failing ratings from the Texas Education Agency.

Not once. Not twice. Five straight years.

And under state law, either the campus must be closed—or the state must take over the district.

This is not politics. This is policy. And this is personal.

This isn’t just about one campus. It’s about a district-wide pattern of neglect and failure that stretches back decades. The state’s A–F grading system may have its flaws, but it has laid bare a truth our community has known for far too long: Fort Worth ISD has failed its most vulnerable students.

From low achievement scores and high dropout rates, to biased discipline policies and special education disparities, to cultural neglect and leadership dysfunction—FWISD has become a textbook example of systemic educational failure.

We’re not calling for chaos—we’re calling for correction.

We’re not seeking revenge—we’re demanding reform.

And let’s be clear: if the Texas Education Agency refuses to enforce its own laws, then it too becomes complicit in this unfolding tragedy.

What Fort Worth ISD needs is not another delay, diversion, or distraction.

We need decisive, transformative intervention.

We need a complete overhaul of how this district is governed, how its culture is shaped, how its curriculum is designed, and how deeply it cares for every single child—especially those our systems have long left behind.

Because this isn’t about test scores.

It’s about trauma.

It’s about lives lost.

It’s about futures cut short before they’ve had a chance to begin.

Fort Worth ISD isn’t just failing—it’s hemorrhaging hope.

And unless we act now, we will lose another generation of potential leaders, innovators, and visionaries who could have transformed this city, this state, and this nation.

So to the Texas Education Agency: Do your job. Intervene.

To parents and community leaders: Stand with us. Organize. Demand accountability.

Because if we don’t act now—who will?

And if we don’t fight for our children—what are we doing?

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About the Author:

Pastor Kyev Tatum, Sr. is a Fort Worth native, civil rights leader, and senior pastor of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church. With over 30 years of experience in policy, advocacy, and education reform, he serves as president of the Ministers Justice Coalition of Texas. Pastor Tatum is a tireless advocate for educational equity, food security, youth empowerment, and economic justice in historically neglected communities. A former student assistant to the late Dr. Barry B. Thompson, president of Tarleton State University, Pastor Tatum has launched multiple initiatives, including ROOTS Academy and the Inner City Coffee Exchange, to uplift and inspire inner-city youth. He is also the author of Fighting Black in Texas, a forthcoming anthology chronicling Black Texans who resisted racial injustice from 1868 to the present.