School Leadership Blueprint

Program Details

A new, multi-year investment to help districts redesign school leadership by changing structures and building skills so that teachers and students thrive. Inaugural cohort to be announced Spring 2026.

What People Are Saying

“It's not only helping teachers grow in their craft—it's moving the instructional needle for our students. I think this could be a huge game changer for districts across Texas and even the nation.”

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Elementary school students smiling on campus.

Building a New School leadership Architecture

Schools need more than a great principal. They need a excellent team of leaders and systems to support them. The School Leadership Blueprint helps district redesign school leadership so that teachers and students thrive.

In today’s schools, principals are stretched too thin and forced to be reactive. This is directly linked to the struggles teachers are facing – they are overloaded and under-supported. If we want to improve the state of the teaching profession, we have to solve for the pressures facing school leaders. This is what the Blueprint aims to do.

By harnessing the expertise and leadership of teachers, rethinking the role of assistant principals and empowering principals to share leadership, districts can create a sustainable system where teachers receive the support and development they need, instruction gets stronger and student outcomes improve.

A teacher smiles as she helps a student in class.

Our model in action

Learn more about how this model is boosting student achievement in districts and schools. You can also dig deeper in Dr. Lindsay Whorton’s forthcoming book, “A New School Leadership Architecture.”

01. Lockhart ISD
02. A New School Leadership Architecture
03. Harlingen CISD

Lockhart ISD

Lockhart ISD has adopted a new school leadership architecture that’s changing everything about the way school leaders operate and resulting in rising academic progress for students.

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01. Lockhart ISD

A New School Leadership Architecture

In her forthcoming book, Lindsay Whorton introduces a bold strategy to reimagine school leadership by shifting from lone-hero narratives to collaborative, well-defined roles that empower leaders at every level of the system.

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02. A New School Leadership Architecture

Image of A New School Leadership Architecture book cover by Dr. Lindsay Whorton

Coakley Middle School

At Coakley Middle School in Harlingen CISD, Principal Elizabeth Minto-Bauer created teacher leader roles to support newer teachers who needed more hands-on guidance. The results have been remarkable, with increased teacher confidence and improved student performance.

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03. Harlingen CISD

Why This Approach?

01 School and district leaders across Texas face a major challenge: How can they provide the coaching and support all teachers need to succeed and stay in the profession?

02 It’s difficult – if not impossible – for one principal to be the primary coach for an average of 33 teachers while also trying to manage daily operations and drive school improvement. Yet that’s the expectation in most schools.

03 Schools need more than a great principal. They need a team of leaders – including strong teachers – who can provide the support and skill-building newer teachers need to stay and drive better outcomes for students.

A teacher reads a book to students in class.

The Need for Change

55 %

of new teachers in Texas were uncertified in 2024-25 (Source: Texas Education Agency, April 2025)

the unrealistic number of teachers an average public school principal coaches and develops (Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 2022-23)

3-4

months of learning lost when taught by inexperienced teachers, with larger effects in rural districts and for economically disadvantaged students (Source: Amid Rising Number of Uncertified Teachers Policy Brief, Texas Tech University, April 2025)

how the school leadership blueprint works

01 With guidance from Holdsworth, districts build a four-level leadership model on at least half their campuses. This new structure creates formal teacher leadership roles, revamps the work of assistant principals and enables principals to lead the school more successfully and sustainably.

02 Through world-class leadership development programs, Holdsworth supports campus leaders at every level to develop the skills and mindsets to lead effectively in these new structures.

03 Over the course of the Blueprint, Holdsworth helps districts build the systems and capabilities needed to sustain the new structures so that students and staff benefit from lasting improvements.

Holdsworth Firsthand

With help from Holdsworth, schools are adopting a new leadership architecture that leverages expert teachers, resulting in more support for newer teachers and rising student achievement.

The support The Holdsworth Center has given us—from being a thought partner to creating documents and everything in between – they've been a huge part of our journey. We could not have done this work without Holdsworth.

Mark Estrada

Superintendent / Lockhart ISD

I feel like I’ve been in survival mode. Then Casey (the teacher leader) came in and she gave us so much confidence. The scores have been going up. So much growth!

Naian Hernandez

Teacher / Harlingen CISD

I had to totally change my mindset and learn how to trust the team. At the very beginning it's like, ‘I have to see that. I’ll need to give my final approval on it.' Now I 100 percent trust the decisions they're making.

Jamee Griebel

Executive Principal / Lockhart ISD

interested in learning more?

Are you interested in learning more about our programs? Sign up and we’ll keep you updated on application windows, webinars and information sessions.