Trustee Advocates Program

Across Texas, school trustees provide education oversight and citizen governance to ensure our public schools meet the expectations of our local communities. The community perspective these leaders — and their constituencies — bring is critically important to state policymakers.

Raise Your Hand Texas’ Trustee Advocates Program gives Texas school boards and their superintendents the tools they need to find, use, and amplify their voices and the voices of communities to influence state education policy.

Over the course of an 18-month fellowship, Trustee Advocates learn to build a local public education advocacy network that encourages community connectedness and influences state legislative outcomes.

Program Details

Launched in January 2022, Raise Your Hand Texas’ Trustee Advocates Program inaugural cohort graduates included eight school districts.

Cohort 2, the newest cohort, includes these school districts that will participate in 2024-25:  

• Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD
• Prosper ISD
• Pearland ISD
• Port Aransas ISD
• Plano ISD
• Temple ISD
• Tomball ISD 

Those who complete the course earn the designation of Master Advocate. 

Please direct any questions about this program to Libby Cohen, executive director, at lcohen@ryht.org.

Program Schedule

*Graduation

The above schedule is subject to change.

Attendees will travel and arrive before the early morning start on the first day of training. Typically, travel will occur the day before training begins.

COHORT 1 GRADUATES