Our mission is to impact, over time, the quality of PreK-12 public education for all Texas students by supporting and developing educational leaders.
Our history
Charles Butt, Chairman of H-E-B, founded The Holdsworth Center in 2017. He named the nonprofit organization for his mother, a former schoolteacher and lifelong advocate for social justice.
Described as intelligent, strong, persevering, always compassionate and the embodiment of absolute determination, Mary Elizabeth dedicated her life to alleviating the suffering of the sick, disabled and mentally ill. She believed deeply that “one solitary life can make a difference” and showed it with her extraordinary actions.
As a young woman in the 1920s, Mary Elizabeth became a schoolteacher in Kerrville and Center Point in the Hill Country. She spoke often of how much she cared for her students, making a deep impression on her youngest son, Charles.
Inspired by his mother, Charles has directed much of his personal and corporate giving toward education, developing initiatives such as the annual H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards, the H-E-B Read 3 early literacy program and Raise Your Hand Texas, an advocacy organization focused on public policies that support and improve our public schools. The Holdsworth Center builds on those efforts by strengthening the leaders who serve educators and students.
Founder’s letter
We live in a time when support and funding for the nation’s public schools is declining and faith in the system is eroding. My investment in The Holdsworth Center is a vote of confidence in our public schools. I believe that the future economic outlook for our state and our country depends on our ability to provide a high-quality education to each and every child.
With Texas school districts serving 10 percent of the nation’s children, I believe we have a tremendous responsibility and opportunity to provide the best possible education to all kids. But it has to start with great leaders—supportive principals, administrators, superintendents, and teacher leaders in every classroom.
There is no shortcut. If we want to get to the root of making long-term, sustainable improvements to public education, we’ve got to invest the time to go deep within our districts. ”
We need to strengthen the leadership pipelines that can build the foundation for a stronger system and provide more opportunities for growth for our teachers.
My hope is that over time, we provide education leaders a place to turn to for growth and that our comprehensive approach will serve as a model to replicate across the nation.
— Charles Butt
Our values
In our work, we embrace three core values that flow from our founder, Charles Butt, and his mother and our namesake, Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth. In all things, we strive to be of service, believe in people, and drive for excellence & equity.