Contact:
Amelia T. Folkes, APR
Director of Public Relations, Raise Your Hand Texas
afolkes@ryht.org, (512) 968-1155

RAISE YOUR HAND TEXAS® OPENS NEXT TRUSTEE ADVOCATES PROGRAM APPLICATION

Second year of innovative fellowship program to elevate Texas school boards, district superintendents’ expertise on state education policy

Austin, Texas (September 7, 2023)— As Raise Your Hand Texas’ Trustee Advocates Program wraps up its inaugural year, applications for its second cohort have opened providing a new opportunity for Texas school boards and their superintendents to engage their communities to influence state education policy.

“Now, more than ever, the voices, experience and passion of public school board trustees and superintendents is needed at our Texas capitol and in our local communities,” said Dr. Libby Cohen, senior director of advocacy for Raise Your Hand Texas. “These local leaders bring critically important expertise and insight that will be valuable to policymakers.”

“Supporting and strengthening our schools takes all of us, and the Trustee Advocates Program will help equip these local leaders to better and positively impact public education policy,” added Missy Bender, regional advocacy director and trustee-in-residence for Raise Your Hand Texas. 

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

Board trustees and superintendents are on the front lines of public education, and are deeply invested in their communities and schools. Raise Your Hand Texas and its Trustee Advocates Program is equipping local public school leaders and their local communities with the knowledge and tools they need to become strong advocates for public school students, teachers, and classrooms.

Applications for the 2023-2024 cohort opened Aug. 25 and will end Oct. 13. Fellowships will be announced in January 2024, and the program will commence in February.

Competitive grants offered this second year fellowship cohort will be awarded to trustees and superintendents in up to nine  public school districts across Texas. The Trustee Advocates Program work is issue-based, non-partisan, and held in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. As a Texas Education Agency-registered provider of continuing education, Raise Your Hand will award continuing education credit to trustees for the hours spent in training.

All Texas school districts are eligible to apply to become members of the second cohort of the Trustee Advocate Program before the deadline of October 13, 2023. For more information about the program or to submit an application, visit the online application.

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About Raise Your Hand Texas

Raise Your Hand Texas is a non-partisan nonprofit organization supporting public policy solutions that invest in Texas’ 5.4 million public school students, encourage innovation and autonomy, and improve college and workforce readiness. Our statewide advocacy team works in communities throughout the state to raise the voices of parents, teachers, community leaders, business owners, and students who care about the future of public education. Our advocacy work, alongside current research, informs the policy recommendations we make to Texas lawmakers. For more information, visit www.RaiseYourHandTexas.org.

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