Holdsworth Center Leadership Program Selects San Angelo ISD as a Finalist for its Program

SAN ANGELO, TX — The San Angelo Independent School District was selected as one of 14 school district finalists for the second cohort of a five-year leadership program by The Holdsworth Center, a leadership institute for Texas public schools founded by H-E-B CEO and Chairman Charles Butt.

San Angelo ISD submitted an application to the Holdsworth Center earlier this fall to compete for a spot in the cohort. Only six districts in Texas are selected to be part of the next cohort in April 2019.

Texas school districts with 6,000 students or more are eligible to apply. To ensure a diverse cohort, Holdsworth staff considers each district's student population and geographic location. In addition, evaluators look at current leadership development practices, academic initiatives, and studies each district's responses to questions in order to gauge their willingness and ability to change, as well as their level of commitment to their process.

In October, San Angelo ISD completed a robust application process that included detailed responses to nine narrative questions, and also submitted a letter of support from San Angelo ISD school board President Lanny Layman.

"This is a feather in San Angelo ISD's hat and would not be possible without the continued leadership, unity, and support from our school board for our students, staff, and leadership team. We are fortunate to have talented educators that focus on the unique needs of each student," said Superintendent Dr. Carl Dethloff.

The next step in the process for final consideration is a visit to San Angelo ISD by the Holdsworth Center's executive team in February 2019.

The Holdsworth experience begins with a two-year District Leadership Program that includes the superintendent and a team of five other leaders from central office. In the second year, the learning expands to campus-level leaders through the Holdsworth Campus Leadership Program.

The program includes travel to expose leaders to school systems and private industries across the globe that model best-in-class leadership development practices, as well as learning sessions with sought-after leadership experts and curriculum focused upon personal leadership, effective teaming, change leadership and aligned systems and structures.

District teams work together to assess their current talent management systems and craft a plan to strengthen those practices. To help districts implement those strategies, Holdsworth’s District Support Team provides on-the-ground support that caters to the individual needs of each district.

All program costs are covered by The Holdsworth Center.

“What’s different about Holdsworth is that we are not just strengthening individual leaders, we are helping districts strengthen and grow their own system of leaders,” Kate Rogers, president of The Holdsworth Center, said. “We are playing the long game because that’s what it takes to truly make an impact.”