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, May 9, 2024

Hello East Harris County and Crosby ISD families,

We’re in the homestretch of the 2023-24 School Year! We’re three weeks away from our last day of school. On the last day of the month, our graduating seniors will instantly become Crosby High School alumni. It’s a magical moment we love to witness year after year.

This is the time of year we start planning for the new school year in detail. One of our major jobs this summer will be to recruit teachers in specialized high-need areas. As part of our recruiting process, the district is offering $1,000 referral stipends to current employees who help us recruit teachers in the following specialties: Bilingual, ESL, Special Education, Secondary English, Secondary Math, and Secondary Science. We are also recruiting bus drivers! For both referral stipends for teachers and bus drivers, the new employee must be new to Crosby ISD. Share our job listings now at www.crosbyisd.org/jobs

We are also opening up registration for students who will be new to Crosby ISD this fall. We’re hoping parents can register new students for the 24-25 School Year, before the summer begins. If you know of families that are new to Crosby ISD, please let them know that registration is now open at www.crosbyisd.org/registration. They will need to create a Skyward account and upload proof of residency. Verification of returning students will open June 5. Our goal is to have every student verified/registered by July 25, in order for students to be routed for transportation on the first day of school and for families to learn their child’s teacher by Meet the Teacher Nights.

The Crosby ISD Athletics Department is looking ahead to summer camps. Coaches will be offering camps in five different sports: football, boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, volleyball, and softball. These camps are geared toward our elementary and middle school students, as we build a bench of student-athletes who not only train their minds and bodies but also work toward earning scholarships for their futures.

There will be free heart screenings at Crosby High School on Thursday, May 9 for any student who needs one. To sign up, email Ms. McMahon at cmmcmahon@crosbyisd.org. There will be $10 physicals conducted at Crosby High School on Saturday, May 18, from 9am-Noon for students ages 11-18. You can get all the information about signing up here: www.crosbyisd.org/physicals

This last month, we are wrapping up one year emphasizing our Portrait of a Graduate. Students across the district are earning pride and popsicle parties by showing they are: Effective Communicators, Kind, Emotionally Intelligent, Goal-Oriented, and Service-Minded. One such example, JROTC cadets from Crosby High School recently cheered on bike riders, raising money and awareness to battle Multiple Sclerosis. The cadets staged at the Austin County Fairgrounds to show their support for the bicyclists in the MS150.

On Friday, May 3^rd, we celebrated School Lunch Hero Day! We saluted Child Nutrition staff members who feed our students’ bellies, so they can do their best in class. Our cafeteria staff have served: 286,554 breakfasts; 649,562 lunches; and more than 8,000 snacks this year. That’s a lot of brain food!

Hats off to our Crosby ISD Technology Services team for a seamless STAAR testing season. If you didn’t know, the state assessment tests are now done entirely online. Our technicians truly are the unsung heroes, working diligently each day to ensure our students do their best on the exams. 

Our last day of school will be Thursday, May 30^th. Crosby High School and Crosby Middle School will dismiss students at 11:20am. Elementary campuses will dismiss students at 12:10pm. I can’t believe we are almost at the finish line. I remember my time as a first grade teacher. The transformation parents saw in their students from August to May were some of the proudest moments of my teaching career.

One last reminder: the Crosby High School Commencement Ceremony will be held Friday, May 31 at 7:30pm. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis. There are currently no seating capacity limitations for Cougar Stadium. The district will communicate in the coming weeks about inclement weather plans should the outdoor ceremony be interrupted by weather. We will all pray for sunny skies and clear weather as we celebrate the Class of 2024. I hope to see you there.

We are Moving Forward! Go Coogs!