Looking for some quick, fun and free activities to do as a family while your children are on spring break? Here are some ideas.

• Check out the museums. The Amon Carter Museum of American Art and the Kimbell Art Museum have free activities all week. If you don’t want to do that, you and your kids can always mosey around the fascinating exhibits.
• Go visit the Fort Worth Public Library. Library locations have all sorts of events you can check out. Plus, you and your children can check out some books to read together.
• Want to stay at home instead of fighting the crowds of tourists? Check out these at-home activities.

Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Angélica Ramsey attended the Women’s Policy Forum to speak on the state of the district last week. Kristen attended and recapped her comments.

• Ramsey discussed literacy in the school district. Jacob recently reported on reading data that shows more students are falling behind their grade level. Ramsey dug deeper into this during her talk.
• She said the way reading is tested has a knowledge gap, meaning there are words students might not understand and not having that context hurts them. Where many students start to fall behind is when they are tested on reading passages that include culture or vocabulary they don’t know.
• Additionally, Ramsey suggested starting literacy earlier. She said there are benefits to reading to a child as early as pregnancy or signing to them to help brain development.
• To help schools and teachers, Ramsey suggested anyone who is able to volunteer should. This can include reading to kids, making copies for teachers or starting a PTA.

Ever wondered where the name of your child’s school comes from? Kristen started a series that will explore just that on Fort Worth ISD campuses.

• Dunbar High School is named after the notable Black poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.
• Kristen visited the campus and spoke to several students who described a fierce pride in the school among the community.
• Students at Dunbar carry on the legacy of its namesake by passionately pursuing creative endeavors like writing poetry and composing songs.
• Want to learn more about the name of a campus? Send Kristen an email, and she’ll check it out!

The Fort Worth Report is hosting a two-night candidate forum on March 29-30. Both forums start at 5:30 p.m.

• The first night is all about the Fort Worth City Council. Get your free ticket for the first night here.
• The second night is focused on candidates running for the Fort Worth ISD school board, Tarrant County College board of trustees and the Tarrant Regional Water District. Get your free ticket for the second night here.
• Are you a candidate who hasn’t RSVP’d yet? Respond to this email and let us know if you’ll be there.

STAAR testing is only a few weeks away. Here are some important dates to keep in mind:

• On April 18-28, third through eighth grades will take the reading language arts test and high schoolers will take English I and English II.
• April 25-May 5 are the testing dates for fifth-grade science, eighth-grade science and social studies, biology and history tests.
• Third through eighth grades will take the math test and high school will take algebra I on May 2-12.
• You can print and save a full testing calendar here.