The Holdsworth Center, an Austin-based nonprofit focused on leadership in public education, has selected Crosby ISD to join the Holdsworth Leadership Collaborative, an 18-month program that will help Crosby ISD build a strong bench of aspiring principals who are ready to step into school leadership positions when they arise.

Crosby ISD is among 17 districts across the state chosen for Holdsworth’s world-class leadership development program.

“Crosby ISD demonstrated a strong commitment to developing principals and a growth mindset around learning new concepts,” said Dr. Lindsay Whorton, president of The Holdsworth Center. “Great leaders draw out the best in people and inspire them to achieve the unimaginable. Every student in Crosby ISD deserves a strong principal at the helm of their school.” 

As part of the Collaborative, a team of three – Superintendent, Mrs. Paula Patterson, and two district leaders, Assistant Superintendent of Administration, Ms. Jewel Whitfield, and Executive Director of Human Resources, Ms. Christy CoVan – work with Holdsworth staff to define what great leadership looks like in Crosby ISD. The team of three will use this definition to design systems and structures to strengthen the principal pipeline.

Research shows that effective principals can significantly impact student outcomes by creating the conditions for teachers to thrive. Because principals influence the working conditions and skill level of every teacher in the building, their impact is outsized.

“We don’t believe there are any quick fixes in education. Investing in the skill and capacity of the people working in our schools is the only way we will see true transformation,” Whorton said. 

Since its founding in 2017, Holdsworth has served 1,371 educators across 50 districts in more than 200 schools in Texas. 

In surveys, 100 percent of superintendents surveyed rate their leadership pipeline as stronger after partnering with Holdsworth for at least three years. 

Click here for more impact stories and data.   

Crosby ISD is excited to announce Superintendent Paula Patterson has been selected for the prestigious Superintendent Leadership Program with The Holdsworth Center in Austin. Superintendent Patterson is among the first group of leaders chosen for the 18-month program and will work with fellow superintendents across Texas. The Superintendent Leadership Program is designed to deepen everyday leadership skills in service of Crosby ISD's students, staff and community.

As the leader of Crosby ISD, Superintendent Patterson plays a key role in helping staff, students and community members forge a new path. The training and mentoring help craft a vision, perfect communication and build a high-performing executive team. Superintendent Patterson is committed to growing and learning to best serve the students, staff, and communities of Crosby ISD.

The Holdsworth Center's program helps Crosby ISD create systems to ensure we have a strong pool of leaders who will grow and lead the district in the future. This is a critical moment for public education in Texas, with historic challenges that will take extraordinary leadership. Navigating recovery and seizing opportunities for transformative change will be critical and necessary for stronger and more innovative schools.

The Holdsworth Center was created by Charles Butt, the chairman of HEB, in 2017 near Lake Austin. He named the nonprofit organization for his mother, a former schoolteacher and lifelong advocate for social justice. The Holdsworth Center is dedicated to Excellence in Education Leadership.

For these inaugural programs, The Holdsworth Center will cover the costs of programming, thanks to the generosity of its founder and other philanthropic supporters. The center’s mission is to improve the quality of public education by supporting and developing educational leaders. The Austin-based nonprofit works with partner districts for five years and makes a deep investment in leaders at both the district and campus levels.

You can read more about the program here: https://holdsworthcenter.org/blog/two-new-programs-launch/ and www.holdsworthcenter.org

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Hello East Harris County and Crosby ISD families,

What an extraordinary year it’s been for students this year in Crosby ISD. Students in our after-school and Friday childcare classes have made memories during amazing student enrichment field trips each month since September. On Fridays, they visited: NASA’s Johnson Space Center; Old MacDonald’s Farm in Humble; The Health Museum in Houston; The Main Street Theater in Houston for a showing of “Beauty and the Beast;” and they sold out of Cougar Cups at the entrepreneurship day at the Harris County Department of Education. Their final field trip of the year was to Moody Gardens in Galveston this month. They spent an entire day learning all about sea life and aquatic creatures. The wonder in their eyes was priceless. We sincerely thank Friendly Ford and Crawfish Shack for sponsoring these special days.

We are so proud of science in Crosby ISD! On April 8^th, thousands of our students enjoyed eclipse viewing parties at each campus. And that’s not all! The Crosby High School UIL Science Team won 1^st Place at the District Competition at Barbers Hill High School earlier this month. On April 27^th, they compete in Regionals at Fulshear High School. These students are brilliant beyond their years, and we’ll be cheering them on all the way!

This month, we celebrated the Senior Service Awards banquet at Crosby High School. 79 seniors were honored with more than half of them ranked among the top 10% of the Class of 2024. Those 79 seniors earned 119 scholarships and 5 earned military service or recruiting awards. Around the country, fewer than 1 in 8 high school students receive scholarships each year. At Crosby High School, nearly one fourth of our graduating class has earned money toward a college degree or an industry certification.

Congratulations to the Crosby High School Class of 2024 Valedictorian, Andrew Canada, and Salutatorian, Austin Eilers. Andrew is headed to the University of Houston where he will major in mechanical engineering. He is also planning to earn graduate degrees in aerospace engineering and law. Andrew would like to become an aerospace engineer for NASA and eventually tackle legal work to develop and defend patents for space exploration. Austin will study biomedical science with a concentration on pre-veterinary work at Texas A&M University. Austin is hoping to become a veterinarian with a strong emphasis in pharmacology. Austin says he wants to share his knowledge and make medicine for livestock and perhaps humans someday. Wow!

Kudos goes out to the Crosby High School Bass Club. Six teams will be competing in the State fishing tournament next month on Lake Palestine. Six teams is a school record. Both the CHS Baseball and Softball teams are headed to the playoffs, and our Track & Field students keep breaking records too! The Girls 4X400m Relay Team broke the school record twice! Mayte Tavarez, Emori LaSalle, Katie Daniels, and Abby Ellisor clocked in at a personal record of 4:09.8. That’s fast! On the boys’ side, CHS junior Ty Lovas also broke the school record twice in the Pole Vault! He had a 14’6” in the Area track meet and moved on to Regionals. Sophomore Ivan Armendariz set a new school record in the 3200m run with a time of 10:26. If you blink, you’ll miss some of our Cougars. That’s how fast they are!

What a great day it was this month for more than 140 LifeSkills students in Crosby ISD and Huffman ISD. The children, of all ages, had the chance to spend one of the best days of their lives at the Coleen Walker Relays. The relays are held each year especially for vocational students to play sports and other activities they don’t always get to enjoy. The relays are named after CHS teacher, Ms. Coleen Walker, who passed away in 2004. She taught LifeSkills classes, and she was an advocate for education for all! The relays were funded by a grant from the Crosby Education Foundation, Copper Basin Homes LLC, and CISD Trustee Phillip Chapman. We thank them. Those 140 LifeSkills students were assisted by 100 older students who volunteer to be their mentors, guides, and champions. Students helping students! There’s nothing better!

Finally, I am so proud of the work just completed by the district’s Leadership Definition Task Force. The group of staff members, including teachers, coaches, paraprofessionals, and administrators examined how every position – at every level – can demonstrate leadership in Crosby ISD. For me, the best part of the year-long process was the opportunity to work alongside teachers and staff members from various campuses. The task force did an amazing job developing and designing a roadmap to focus on. Our themes of “People, Leadership, and Success” will be championed for years to come. Our staff also created a helpful graphic during our brainstorming sessions. You’ll see our new “shields” all over campuses soon!

We are Moving Forward! Go Coogs!