Raise Your Hand Texas announced Paris ISD, North Lamar ISD, Chisum ISD, and Prairiland ISD will join 28 additional Texas public school districts to compose the inaugural cohort of the Community Leaders Fellowship. The 18-month program is designed to equip local teams — composed of parents, educators, business leaders, and school trustees — with the tools and skills necessary to find, use and amplify their voices in state education policy.
“The Raise Your Hand Texas Community Leaders Fellowship is a powerful opportunity for Lamar County to come together with a shared voice in support of public education. By collaborating with three other districts across our county, we are ensuring our community is on the same page when it comes to advocating for our schools,” said Paris ISD Superintendent Althea Dixon. “Our schools are the backbone of our community, and we are proud to support, celebrate, and tell the story of the many positive things happening every day across all of our campuses. This 18-month commitment will allow us to be more informed, more connected, and more vocal in advocating for public education. I look forward to working with Raise Your Hand Texas and partnering with all Lamar County schools as we move forward together.”
“The Raise Your Hand Texas Community Leaders Fellowship is about creating momentum that will extend far beyond the 18 months of the program,” said North Lamar ISD Superintendent Kelli Stewart. “By investing in collaboration and leadership, we are strengthening our ability to support students in meaningful ways. When our community is actively engaged alongside our schools, we gain a deeper understanding of what matters most for our students. It’s about listening, learning, and working together to create the best possible future for every student in Lamar County. Together, we have an opportunity to not only strengthen our schools, but to help shape the future of public education across Texas.”
The program builds on the foundation of the Trustee Advocates Program, which launched in 2022. While the previous program focused on teams composed of school board members and superintendents, the Fellowship uses a unique collaborative model. Each team consists of seven to 10 participants, including at least three community members who are not school board trustees or district employees. This year’s Fellowship participants are comprised of school districts that have between 500 and 50,000 enrolled students, each with its own unique needs and concerns. Together, they all want to do more for their students and communities.
“The Community Leaders Fellowship empowers Texans to become stronger public education leaders in their hometowns, directly shaping the future of their local school districts by engaging state lawmakers,” said Dr. Libby Cohen, executive director for Raise Your Hand Texas. “Public schools impact their entire communities. That means the work of advocating for public education in the Texas Capitol belongs to entire communities, as well. We’re excited these advocacy teams are stepping up to the challenge of bringing more hands to this important work.”
The following school districts have been selected as Grant Awardees for Cohort 1 of the Raise Your Hand Texas Community Leaders Fellowship: Abilene ISD, Alamo Heights ISD, Arp ISD, Belton ISD. Canutillo ISD, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Cedar Hill ISD, Cleburne ISD, Chisum ISD, Comanche ISD, Corpus Christi ISD, Eanes ISD, Early ISD, Granbury ISD, Gregory-Portland ISD, Harlingen CISD, Lake Dallas ISD, Lewisville ISD, Liberty Hill ISD, Lyford CISD, Martin’s Mill ISD, McKinney ISD, North Lamar ISD, Paris ISD, Plano ISD, Prairiland ISD, Port Aransas ISD, San Marcos CISD, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, Shiner ISD, Splendora ISD, and Wylie ISD (Taylor County).
The Community Leaders Fellowship is issue-based and non-partisan. Through a mix of in-person, virtual, and self-paced sessions, these teams will develop a deep understanding of the legislative process and master the skills of community engagement and sustainable advocacy.
“Our goal is to build more and deeper relationships between local leaders and their communities, so that they can work together to identify what’s important to them with respect to public education,” said Amy Dodson, dean of advocacy for Raise Your Hand Texas. “This new model creates powerful local teams that can advocate for meaningful change for their students and teachers. We are especially proud to see a few alumni of our Trustee Advocates Program leading the charge in this deeper, community-based work.”
For more information about the program, visit https://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/advancing-public-education/advocacy-fellowship/.
About Raise Your Hand Texas
In 2006, Charles Butt and a group of Texas business and community leaders founded Raise Your Hand Texas with the belief that all Texas children should have equal access to high-quality education. Raise Your Hand Texas is working to create a vibrant civic culture where Texans vote, engage lawmakers and their neighbors, and act together to champion public education in their communities and at the state Capitol. For more information, visit raiseyourhandtexas.org
