Early ISD issued the following press release Wednesday morning:
Raise Your Hand Texas today announced the launch of its inaugural Community Leaders Fellowship, naming 29 grant awardees to its first cohort. As the premier program within the organization’s newly established Education Advocacy Academy, the Fellowship is the next evolution of the successful Trustee Advocates Program, expanding its reach to include a diverse coalition of community voices.
The Community Leaders Fellowship is an 18-month program designed to equip local teams — composed of parents, educators, business leaders, and school trustees — with the tools and skills necessary to find, use and amplify their voices in state education policy.
“The Community Leaders Fellowship empowers Texans to become stronger public education leaders in their hometowns, directly shaping the future of their local school districts by engaging state lawmakers,” said Dr. Libby Cohen, executive director for Raise Your Hand Texas. “Public schools impact their entire communities. That means the work of advocating for public education in the Texas Capitol belongs to entire communities, as well. We’re excited these advocacy teams are stepping up to the challenge of bringing more hands to this important work.”
The program builds on the foundation of the Trustee Advocates Program, which launched in 2022. While the previous program focused on teams composed of school board members and superintendents, the Fellowship uses a unique collaborative model. Each team consists of seven to 10 participants, including at least three community members who are not school board trustees or district employees. This year’s Fellowship participants are comprised of school districts that have between 500 and 50,000 enrolled students, each with its own unique needs and concerns. Together, they all want to do more for their students and communities.
Early ISD is among the 29 districts selected for this prestigious fellowship, and Superintendent Dr. Joan Otten expressed her enthusiasm for the opportunity:
“Early ISD is deeply honored to be selected as part of the inaugural cohort of the Raise Your Hand Texas Community Leaders Fellowship. This opportunity reflects what we have always believed — that the strongest schools grow from the strongest communities. Over the next 18 months, we will work alongside parents, business leaders, educators, and trustees to develop the skills and relationships necessary to advocate meaningfully for public education at the state level. This fellowship is about more than policy; it is about uniting our community around a shared commitment to the students and families of Early ISD. We look forward to making our community’s voice heard in Austin and bringing lasting value back home to Early, Texas.”
— Dr. Joan Otten, Superintendent, Early ISD
The following school districts have been selected as Grant Awardees for Cohort 1 of the Raise Your Hand Texas Community Leaders Fellowship:
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Abilene ISD
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Alamo Heights ISD
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Arp ISD
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Belton ISD
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Canutillo ISD
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Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD
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Cedar Hill ISD
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Cleburne ISD
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Comanche ISD
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Corpus Christi ISD
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Eanes ISD
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Early ISD
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Granbury ISD
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Gregory-Portland ISD
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Harlingen CISD
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Lake Dallas ISD
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Lewisville ISD
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Liberty Hill ISD
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Lyford CISD
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Martin’s Mill ISD
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North Lamar ISD
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Paris ISD
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Plano ISD
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Port Aransas ISD
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San Marcos CISD
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Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD
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Shiner ISD
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Splendora ISD
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Wylie ISD (Taylor County)
The Community Leaders Fellowship is issue-based and non-partisan. Through a mix of in-person, virtual, and self-paced sessions, these teams will develop a deep understanding of the legislative process and master the skills of community engagement and sustainable advocacy.
“Our goal is to build more and deeper relationships between local leaders and their communities, so that they can work together to identify what’s important to them with respect to public education,” said Amy Dodson, dean of advocacy for Raise Your Hand Texas. “This new model creates powerful local teams that can advocate for meaningful change for their students and teachers. We are especially proud to see a few alumni of our Trustee Advocates Program leading the charge in this deeper, community-based work.”
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About Raise Your Hand Texas
Raise Your Hand Texas is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to improving public education for all Texas students through advocacy, leadership development, and community engagement.