Raise Your Hand Texas Names JoLisa Hoover its Teacher Specialist

CONTACT:

Anne Lasseigne Tiedt, APR

atiedt@ryht.org, (512)784-3805

Hoover Will Serve as an Advocating Voice for Teachers Across the State

AUSTIN, TX (May 5, 2022) – Raise Your Hand Texas today announced JoLisa Hoover as the organization’s Teacher Specialist. Hoover transitions into this newly created position from her current role with Raise Your Hand Texas as its senior regional advocacy director for Central Texas.

For the past fifteen years, Raise Your Hand Texas has supported the enhancement of teaching as a career, attracting and preparing a strong teacher workforce, and retaining quality educators in the field. Knowing that teacher recruitment, retention, and workforce solutions will be a focus of the next legislative session, this new role allows Hoover to combine her expertise as a classroom teacher of 26 years, along with her administrative and policy experience at the U.S. Department of Education and Teach Plus, to fight for teachers during the 88th Texas Legislature.

“Transitioning JoLisa into our new teacher specialist position at Raise Your Hand Texas further underscores the important role teachers play in our schools and in our communities,” said Raise Your Hand Texas executive director Michelle Smith. “Our teachers have been stretched and challenged, and their profession is nearing a breaking point. JoLisa knows the issues facing our teachers in the classroom, and in her previous role as a senior regional advocacy director, has spoken with countless teachers, principals, superintendents, parents and teachers about the issues that matter most in Texas education. JoLisa will be able to lean on her own experiences as well as her relationships and on-the-ground knowledge to advocate and fight for all teachers in Texas public schools in this new role.”

Hoover earned her bachelor’s degree from McMurry University in 1992 in multidisciplinary studies. She graduated from Texas A&M University in 1998 with a Master of Arts in educational psychology. She taught in Bryan and Leander ISDs before serving the U.S. Department of Education as a teaching ambassador fellow. Hoover was a founding advisory committee member of Teach Plus in Texas and later served Teach Plus Texas as senior education policy fellow.

“All students need access to high-quality teachers for our state to succeed, and I am ready to advocate for improvements to our Texas public education system,” Hoover said. “Texas ranks No. 41 in the nation for education spending. That lack of funding directly impacts the students in our classrooms and the teachers tasked with providing them the educational experience they deserve. We owe it to all our teachers to give them the tools they need to ensure every one of their students has what they need to succeed in the classroom and to recognize and elevate the expertise of educators as we work together to improve the future for all students in Texas.”

ABOUT RAISE YOUR HAND TEXAS

Raise Your Hand Texas supports public policy solutions that invest in our students, encourage innovation and autonomy, and improve college and workforce readiness. For more information, visit RaiseYourHandTexas.org.

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