Young Men's Leadership Academy, Fort Worth TX

Original Research by School Decision on Young Men's Leadership Academy

Young Men's Leadership Academy is a public school serving grades six through twelve in Fort Worth, enrolling a small cohort of students in a district that spans much of the city and surrounding communities. The school sits in a low-income area where roughly three-quarters of enrolled students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic conditions of its immediate neighborhood.

The school's academic profile is mixed and uneven across grades and subjects. In the lower middle grades, performance is soft. Grade six shows about half the students meeting proficiency in ELA, while math proficiency is much lower. Grade seven shows a sharper dip, with math proficiency dropping notably; ELA holds steadier. By grade eight, the picture shifts: math proficiency climbs substantially, and ELA proficiency rises further. Across all tested subjects and grade levels, science performance is moderate, with a bit under half meeting proficiency; social studies shows somewhat stronger results. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among the county's tested schools, a position anchored primarily by eighth-grade strength rather than consistent performance across all grades.

The student population is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with each group making up roughly equal shares. The school appears to be a single-gender male academy, based on its name and the male-focused leadership framing, though the data provided does not include explicit confirmation of enrollment policies. This type of structure carries pedagogical intention around identity and peer environment, though research on such academies produces mixed findings depending on implementation and context.

The enrollment is small relative to a full-service high school; the upper grades (nine through twelve) account for a modest share of the total. This means the school may function partly as a feeder or alternative pathway, with students potentially transitioning to other Fort Worth ISD schools or the academy serving as a targeted option rather than a comprehensive neighborhood high school. No graduation rate data was available, making it difficult to assess whether students complete the twelfth-grade pathway at this school or elsewhere.

Grade-eight results suggest the academy may build momentum as students progress, though the weakness in grade-seven math warrants attention. A parent considering this school would want to ask directly about the school's approach to the middle-school dip in mathematics, what instructional shifts happen in eighth grade, and how the school supports students in grades nine through twelve, where sample sizes in state testing data grow smaller. The school offers neither state-tested advanced courses nor published program offerings in the available data, so questions about AP, dual-credit pathways, or specialized academics should be directed to the school itself.

Fort Worth itself is one of the nation's fastest-growing cities, with a distinct identity mixing Western heritage (the Stockyards, cattle ranches) with contemporary urban development. Housing costs have risen notably with the growth, though they remain moderate compared to other major Texas metros. The immediate area around the school reflects the economic diversity of the city; some neighborhoods are walkable and mixed-use, while others are car-dependent. The city's transit network includes bus service, a commuter rail line to Dallas, and the TEXRail link to the airport, though day-to-day transportation patterns vary by location.

Young Men's Leadership Academy appears to be a specialized option within Fort Worth ISD rather than a comprehensive school. Its middle-school performance, particularly the grade-eight strength, suggests it may be worth exploring if the single-gender male environment and its specific leadership mission align with what a family is seeking, though the school would need to provide clarity on high school pathways and outcomes.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 35 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,779 schools plotted. 59 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 17% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 5% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 31% · ▲ 42 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 656%

School 56% · District 38% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 750%

School 50% · District 35% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 26% · ▲ 51 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Science

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 23% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 14% · ▲ 47 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

This schoolFORT WORTH ISD, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income60%Higher-income30%30 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income50%Higher-income50%0 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income72%Higher-income86%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income20%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income18%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income68%Higher-income83%15 pp gap