This program changed me in ways that I didn’t know I needed changing.”

Texas public school districts with more than 5,500 students in any geographic region are eligible for the Partnership and are a good fit if they:

• Have dedicated significant time and capacity in recent years to improving talent systems but need support understanding growth areas and developing new systems to strengthen the district’s leadership bench.
• Are committed to working in the district for five years until the Partnership is complete (Summer 2023 – 2028).
• Have a superintendent and team of five senior leaders who are committed to formal learning sessions in the first two years (Summer 2023 - 2025) and are hungry to grow in the areas of personal leadership, growing and empowering others and leading change.
• Are committed to recruiting and investing in about 50 percent of principals and their school teams to participate in the 2-year Campus Leadership Program.
• Are open to direct guidance and feedback on the creation and implementation of talent systems and are ready to frequently work alongside Holdsworth’s District Support Team to do so (i.e., available for weekly meetings to align on key content and take on action items).

The time spent in learning sessions and site visits is approximately 35-40 days over the 2-year District Leadership Program and 27 days for the 2-year Campus Leadership Program. Though the details of how learning is organized—in-person sessions at the Campus on Lake Austin, travel outside the state or virtual sessions online —will continue to evolve in response to our context, these time allocations provide a good guide for what participation in Holdsworth programs will look like.

Regardless of format, the learning experiences are comprehensive and involve pre-reading and preparation. Back in the district, central office leaders also work closely with the Holdsworth District Support Team to strengthen their approach to identifying, developing, selecting and supporting leaders.

The Holdsworth Partnership is distinguished from many leadership development programs by its 5-year commitment and deep investment in a critical mass of leaders within each district.

We build capacity at the individual, team and system level because we know it contributes to sustainable improvement that positively impacts students over time.

Another key differentiator is the District Support Team, consultants who work in partner districts as thought partners and project managers to help move the work forward and keep everyone focused on the goal.

One thing you’ll find about Holdsworth is that we bring fresh ideas and perspectives to the table by looking for insights and expertise outside of the educational arena. While we understand the need to work within the system, we believe that stretching our leaders’ thinking and broadening their view of what is possible will result in new and valuable approaches customized for each district.

• The Leadership Collaborative is an 18-month program while the Holdsworth Partnership is a 5-year commitment.
• The Collaborative involves a team of three – the superintendent and two district leaders – while the Partnership involves the superintendent plus five other district leaders who will spend time focusing on personal growth and leadership development in addition to building knowledge about talent development systems and leading change.
• The Partnership includes a campus component – approximately 50 percent of all campuses in each district will go through a similar 2-year program as district leaders.
• The Partnership includes District Support, Holdsworth staff members who embed within the district and work closely with district leaders to help them build talent development systems.

The superintendent and five other District Leaders participate in the District Leadership Program, including a District Champion selected by the superintendent to align the team’s efforts around developing a strong leadership pipeline.

The number of leaders in the Campus Leadership Program will depend on the size of the district.

Over the course of five years, our goal is to include at least 50 percent of a district’s campuses in the program. Campus teams include four people, a number that could expand for large, comprehensive high schools.

Online applications for our fourth cohort of the Partnership closed on October 3, 2022. You can learn more about eligibility and the application process by visiting this page.