AUSTIN – Commissioner of Education Mike Morath announced today that eight Texas school districts have been selected to be part of the inaugural Lone Star Governance (LSG) Exemplar Cohort. The LSG Exemplar Cohort is designed for high-performing local governing teams – school board members and their superintendents – that want to continue honing their intense focus on one primary objective: improving student outcomes.

The eight governing teams selected to be part of the LSG Exemplar Cohort are from the following districts: Canutillo ISD; Ector County ISD; Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD; Mansfield ISD; Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD; San Elizario ISD; Sierra Blanca ISD; and Tornillo ISD.

“The leadership at these eight school districts are already demonstrating effective governance practices where the success of every student is the focus,” said Commissioner Morath. “As part of the inaugural LSG Exemplar Cohort, the school board members and superintendents in these districts seek to take their efforts to the next level, which can lead to better student outcomes in their communities.”

As part of the LSG Exemplar Cohort, district leadership has committed to a year-long process, with the option of an additional one-year extension. Supports for school board members and superintendents include:

• Attendance at an LSG workshop;
• Monthly board, board chair, superintendent, and staff implementation support;
• Quarterly self-evaluation support;
• All statutorily required board member trainings;
• Support to earn the upcoming district-level distinction in exemplary governance on the accountability report and Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR);
• Early access to upcoming Lone Star Governance-related trainings; and
• Collaboration with high-performing governing teams.

Commissioner Morath said LSG Exemplar Cohort members will be sharing best practices from their experiences to help strengthen leadership in districts statewide. Cohort members will be presenting at various regional, state and national conferences in the coming year.

In addition, Commissioner Morath announced that two districts – Midland ISD and South San Antonio ISD – have been named as LSG mentor districts for the Exemplar Cohort members. The mentor district designation signifies that the two districts have already been implementing Lone Star Governance for more than a year and have a wealth of knowledge each is willing to share with other districts concerning effective implementation of this work. As mentor districts, members of their governing team will also have opportunities to co-present at regional, state, and national workshops and will co-coach fellow board members and superintendents.

Members of the LSG Exemplar Cohort will take part in the Texas Education Agency’s Lone Star Governance training for school board members with their superintendents, as well as have extensive access to coaching from certified LSG Coaches.

To learn more about Lone Star Governance, visit the Texas Education Agency’s website at https://tea.texas.gov/LSG.

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