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About the Holdsworth Partnership

Holdsworth partnership

The Holdsworth Partnership is a 5-year multifaceted investment to help school districts grow a strong bench of outstanding leaders at all levels of the system.

We start by giving teams of leaders the inspiration, tools and resources needed to grow through our 2-year District and Campus Leadership Programs.

In addition, Holdsworth District Support Team members are embedded within the central office to help leaders create an engaged culture and the structures needed to build best-in-class talent development systems.

Charles Butt, Chairman of H-E-B, founded The Holdsworth Center in 2017. He named the nonprofit organization for his mother, a former schoolteacher and lifelong advocate for social justice.

Described as intelligent, strong, persevering, always compassionate, and the embodiment of absolute determination, Mary Elizabeth dedicated her life to alleviating the suffering of the sick, disabled and mentally ill. She believed deeply that “one solitary life can make a difference” and showed it with her extraordinary actions.

Founder's Letter

We live in a time when support and funding for the nation’s public schools is declining and faith in the system is eroding. My investment in The Holdsworth Center is a vote of confidence in our public schools. I believe that the future economic outlook for our state and our country depends on our ability to provide a high-quality education to each and every child.

With Texas school districts serving 10 percent of the nation’s children, I believe we have a tremendous responsibility and opportunity to provide the best possible education to all kids. But it has to start with great leaders—supportive principals, administrators, superintendents, and teacher leaders in every classroom.

There is no shortcut and no silver bullet. If we want to get to the root of making long-term, sustainable improvements to public education, we’ve got to invest the time to go deep within our districts.”

We need to strengthen the leadership pipelines that can build the foundation for a stronger system and provide more opportunities for growth for our teachers.

My hope is that over time, we provide education leaders a place to turn to for growth and that our comprehensive approach will serve as a model to replicate across the nation.

— Charles Butt