This is only Day 2 for Fort Worth’s new superintendent, Peter B. Licata, PhD, but he brought in a chief of staff from Florida and a new deputy superintendent to his team. Some Fort Worth ISD Central Office staff have been told they don’t need to come in any longer. Licata hit the ground runni ng, implementing change in Fort Worth ISD with his staff. Licata has been meeting with everyone from principals to parents, figuring out his first steps.“Commissioner Morath hasn’t given me one indication of who to pick, how to pick, who to change. He pretty much said, “Go. Do it,'” Licata said. “The system is flawed and broken. We have to align the standards, get real-time data. We’re waiting two weeks for data right now.” He says the secret to his success is excellent, well-paid educators but they must achieve results. “We’re going to be knocking it out of the park with salaries 110, 120, where you can afford to teach,” he said. Behavior has often been cited as a barrier for teachers in the classroom. “If you’re a baseball fan, you know good pitching beats good hitting every day of the week; our teachers are the pitchers. If their instruction is so good, so tight, so welcoming and warm. Those kids wanna be in that classroom. I know it’s idealistic but it’s true.” He’s acknowledged the longtime failure and says he wants to be held accountable to not just promise like everyone else but deliver and teachers have to get on board. “We’re not going to tolerate mediocracy in the classroom, it’s going to be a culture shock, it’s not going to be easy and they’re going to be people who are going to be angry. Because they don’t deserve to be in front of children and don’t leave schools and that’s what’s going to change,” said Licata.  Dr. Licata also talked to us in detail about his parents.  How he sat grieving his dad’s funeral when he committed to being a teacher just like his dad.  He talked about his work teaching in the inner city and seeing the differences in the quality of education between the schools where he taught in the suburbs.  He says that has to change in Fort Worth.  ...read more read less