Six Districts Join Holdsworth’s School Leadership Blueprint

Six public school districts have joined Holdsworth’s inaugural cohort of the School Leadership Blueprint, a bold, multi-year effort to redesign how leadership works at all levels on campus so that teachers are better supported and students thrive. The districts are Donna and Harlingen in the Rio Grande Valley; Mesquite, Crandall and Terrell in North Texas and Sheldon in the Houston area.

The problem we’re trying to solve

Across public education, we are asking too much of too few people. In many schools, a single principal is expected to be the primary instructional leader and coach for 30 or more teachers, chief culture builder, operations manager, disciplinarian, and strategist — all at once.  

It’s a structure that isn’t sustainable and leaves teachers without the coaching and support they need, at a time when that support matters the most. In the 2024-25 school year, 53 percent of new teachers were uncertified, meaning they walked into classrooms with limited training or hands-on experience. Students can lose around 3-4 months of learning as a result, according to a recent study.  

As our president, Dr. Lindsay Whorton, puts it, “We can’t just keep telling educators to work harder and get better when the real problem is the job itself. We have a responsibility to design roles in schools that are sustainable and give teachers what they need to succeed.  

Lindsay’s book, “A New School Leadership Architecture,” lays out a framework for redesigning leadership roles: the School Leadership Blueprint brings those ideas to life alongside district leaders who are ready to build something new.

Not a remodel – a full redesign

Instead of adding new roles onto a system already stretched too thin, Holdsworth works with districts to fully redesign every leadership role on campus.

Over the course of the Blueprint, districts will build a four-level leadership model on approximately 40 percent of their campuses. This new structure creates formal teacher-leader roles to increase coaching and support, redesigns the work of assistant principals and enables principals to lead with clarity, purpose and sustainability.

Alongside this structural redesign, Holdsworth provides world-class leadership development programs for campus leaders at every level to develop the skills and mindsets to lead effectively in these new roles.

“The future of education depends on how well we develop and support the adults who make learning possible every day,” Whorton said. “This work is grounded in the belief that teachers and school leaders are professionals whose expertise, autonomy and capacity for growth are essential to creating schools where both students and educators can thrive.”

What the model looks like in action

With guidance from Holdsworth, Lockhart ISD began piloting this approach in 2020. Six years later, the work has transformed the way school leaders operate.

Expert teachers serve as Lever Leaders, spending part of their time in the classroom and part of their time coaching peers and leading professional learning. Assistant principals now coach Lever Leaders. As a result, principals – relieved of carrying every leadership responsibility alone – are able to focus on long-term strategy and school improvement.

The result is more than new titles.

It is a culture of shared leadership, clearer ownership, stronger coaching and more collaborative decision-making across the campus. Teachers get more immediate and meaningful support. Leaders have room to grow. Students benefit from stronger classroom instruction. In Lockhart, that shift has resulted in rising academic progress and increased staff support and growth opportunities.

“Holdsworth was critical in our early success, from being thought partners on the structure to designing professional development for our leaders,” said Lockhart ISD Superintendent Mark Estrada.

“Six years in, I know that it’s been worth it because our teachers are growing, our students are growing and our community is growing. We continue to see healthy numbers of teachers applying for our positions and our retention rates improving. Our teacher core is becoming more and more experienced.”

Embarking on a new journey

While “A New School Leadership Architecture” offers a rich resource for any district or leader who is ready to rethink school leadership, the School Leadership Blueprint provides districts with the time, partnership and support to design and implement leadership systems that are built for their context.

“My hope is that with this model, our educators will feel like they can actually do the job they signed up to do and to do it well,” said Anjanette Murry, Superintendent of Crandall ISD. “The weight of getting it right is scary, but knowing we have a Holdsworth team behind us means we will have lots of support and guardrails.”

We are deeply grateful to our founding supporters, The Powell Foundation and The Moody Foundation, for their generosity and belief in our mission. Their commitment fuels innovation and hope for public education.