Our Mission Statement
We partner with Rice University and commit to providing a strategic framework of leadership development focused on the “whole leader,” world class diagnosis and design tools, and personalized support to help campus and district leaders improve learning and achievement in their schools.
What Do We Do
Leadership Partners focuses on campus and district leadership to equip leaders with the management tools, strategic frameworks and supportive networks they need to face the challenges of public school leadership. By combining national faculty, world-class business training from Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, and our unique leadership programming, our participants are challenged to explore what is possible in education today and in the future.
Why We Do This
The need for transformational campus and district leadership could not be more urgent than it is today. In Texas, as in many states, demographics are rapidly changing, and preparing students for post-secondary education has never been more challenging.
According to ScholarShot, a non-profit that focuses on helping at-risk students in Texas to exit poverty by obtaining a post-secondary credential, Texas has a huge and worsening “blind spot”:
our state’s poor performance in moving our high school graduates from a high school diploma to a livable wage.
Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show that a vocational, associate or undergraduate degree is needed to be employable at a livable wage. Using recent data from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), one can observe things moving in the wrong direction in Texas. The following data are concerning:
•Fewer than half of the 350,000 students who graduate from Texas high schools make any attempt at earning a post-secondary credential. This has dropped from 60% attempting in 2008 to 49% in 2020.
•The percentage of students succeeding has also dropped from 33% to less than one third, or 29%.
•Texas taxpayers invest $150,000 in each child’s K-12 education. Therefore, 71% will not earn any credential post high school and will become an adult earning a poverty wage and/or who has a low employability chance.
•Data from the THECB show the 87.5% of our LatinX and 91% of our African American first generation low income (FGLI) students enrolling in college in Texas drop out.
While all these points are concerning, perhaps the last bullet point is of huge concern, as LatinX are the fastest growing population 0-18 years of age. A large majority of African Americans live in poverty.
Given these trends will NOT reverse anytime soon, we need school and district leaders who are transformational and can show up to lead as the best versions of themselves. This is exactly what we do. We transform leaders to be their best selves with new tools and strategies few leaders are exposed to.
Improving schools
We want to help improve schools by offering campus and district leaders tools and strategies not found in traditional preparation programs nor in professional development offerings. Research indicates principal preparation has remained static for decades and does not prepare leaders well enough to face the daunting and complex problems in K-12 schools. Read more here.
Leadership Partners provides campus and district leaders with new mindsets, unique learning, diagnosis and design tools , executive coaching and technical support to help them improve their schools at both the system and school level.
Developing the Whole Leader
Grow Your Leadership! We use a unique blend of programming, faculty and tools to help develop the “whole leader.”
Click Here to see our full Theory of Action for Developing the Whole Leader: lp-theory-of-action_v4-5.pdf
How We Live Our Mission
- We provide premium programming using professors from the Jones Graduate School of Business , ranked #8 in the nation.
- We utilize our national faculty to provide campus and district leaders with new learning to help improve their schools.
- We create cohorts of campus and district leaders who learn with and from each other during our programming.
- We focus on the “whole leader,” providing all participants with Executive Coaching from a board certified coach.
- We provide research based diagnosis and design tools to help leaders problem solve with precision.
- We provide personalized and tailored technical support for our campus and district leaders.
- We offer custom programming to meet the unique and specific needs for schools and districts.
- We are serving leaders in the Houston area and across all of Texas.
What We Believe
1. High quality education leaders should expand their skill sets to include problem solving methodology, organizational management and entrepreneurship.
2. Leadership development must address the “whole leader” (i.e. leader identity and self efficacy) in order to make the role more sustainable.
3. The school is the natural “unit of change” for the system. The role of the school leader is pivotal in the delivery of learning. All stakeholders in the system benefit from well-developed leadership.
4. The school leader does not operate in a vacuum. Context, autonomy and both internal and external support are important elements for maximizing campus outcomes, both academic and other.
5. District leaders and staff benefit from leadership development and collaboration with their campus counterparts. Shared frameworks and goals are imperative to improving learning environments for students.
6. The Rice University reputation for quality and the Jones Graduate School of Business contribute distinctiveness to the program offerings.
7. A diverse cohort model and resilient network with ongoing interaction deepens and extends the learning in the formal program.
8. A focus on diagnosis, structured problem solving, design and implementation allows partners to tailor their learning to specific context and need. The Four Paths of Leadership Model provides the best diagnosis and design tools for campus and district leaders.
9. Custom Services and technical support provide a level of personalization needed for campus and district leaders to improve their schools.
