By the Numbers | Partnership Updates| New Member Portal | Regional Spotlight: Texas | Partners in Action | Upcoming Events
As an elementary academic interventionist, Pleshette Williams supports student growth across multiple subject areas. And even beyond academics, Pleshette has had the opportunity to engage students in leadership and community initiatives.
Pleshette has worked closely with YES Prep’s 4th and 5th grade students to launch a Student Council. The group partnered with the school’s Family Committee to host a successful Valentine’s Day Dance and lead a school beautification project by cleaning and planting flowers on campus.
It was through this meaningful collaboration that Pleshette was inspired to apply for the role of Teacher Advocacy Captain. She was selected as one of the first elementary captains at Yes Prep to partner with LEE, advocating for the teacher voice and student-centered policies.
Pleshette officially became a LEE member after stepping into the Teacher Advocacy Captain role. “LEE has provided incredible opportunities for leadership development and advocacy training,” she said. “As someone new to advocacy and politics, it has been the perfect starting point to learn what is required to grow in this area. Through LEE, I’ve had the chance to meet with state representatives, gain insight into upcoming education policies, and discover effective ways to get involved in lobbying efforts and educational advocacy.”
“Moving forward, I believe LEE will continue to provide the network, learning opportunities, and confidence I need to grow into a more knowledgeable and outspoken leader,” she added. “I am eager to broaden my experiences and deepen my understanding by leveraging the resources and connections available through my partnership with LEE. With a strong interest in local politics, I’m hopeful that the skills and insights I gain will empower me to take a more active role in that space and contribute meaningfully to my community.”
We are excited to welcome the expansion of our partnership with the KIPP Foundation, as LEE now partners with KIPP Memphis, SoCal, NYC, and Metro Atlanta. We are thrilled to be working across the country with an organization that shares LEE’s vision for building power by developing the civic leadership of their alumni, families, and students.
Meeting with the KIPP SoCal team
LEE has also added two new partners: Futuro San Antonio and the Billie Sutton Leadership Institute. Together, we are building a vast network of equity minded civic leaders. Read more about our new partners here.
Futuro San Antonio is a non-profit organization focused on ensuring the children of San Antonio have access to high-quality public schools. Futuro is a coalition of education advocates dedicated to ensuring all San Antonio children have access to an excellent public education and greater prosperity for their futuro (future).
In addition to running programs that focus on community organizing, parent leadership, growing the local electorate and local policy priorities, Futuro SA runs the Future Leaders Academy. This program is focused on supporting individuals who are exploring a run for office, want to grow significantly in their leadership and are committed to San Antonio. The Future Leaders Academy ran its inaugural program last year with 15 participants with plans to steadily grow over the next two years to 75 participants.
The Billie Sutton Leadership Institute is a non-partisan organization that inspires and prepares the next generation of leaders to build a stronger South Dakota and more vibrant communities and workplaces through service to others. The Leadership Institute runs a year-long leadership development program that is free for South Dakotans interested in public service and community engagement. Currently, they have an alumni base of over 80 members.
At the start of the year, LEE launched our upgraded member portal, a one-stop hub to connect members with all LEE offerings and support. The new portal helps LEE learn more about our members to offer a curated, individualized experience through an easy to use interface.
The portal allows members to easily update their personal information and interests so LEE can customize the user experience with the tools best suited for each member’s needs. The clean interface lets members easily access all of LEE offerings, from in-person training to our online courses and certifications. It includes upcoming event reminders, a personalized calendar, and notifications on resources and new tools to optimize the member experience within the portal.
We are constantly working to keep the portal up-to-date and member-focused, with new features frequently added. Most recent updates include a recommendation engine to show members the best next steps based on their experience, interests, and past participation with LEE and a new job board with customized features including saving and bookmarking roles of interest.
In San Antonio, members joined for an Elected Leadership “Designing Local Leaders” session, in which attendees engaged in discussion to identify the qualities, values, experiences, and skills they would like to see in their elected leaders and then reflected on how they embody much of what they want in their local leadership. The event was attended by campaign bootcamp members from Futuro San Antonio (led by longtime LEE member Daiana Lambrecht), and the Executive Director of Leadership SAISD, another long time LEE member, Dana Wrann. LEE member and Bexar County Judge Elizabeth R. Martinez spoke at the session. Similar events have been held in Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth.
At the Fort Worth Civic Action Roundtable, members from Tarrant County presented data and insights around equity issues tied to the Texas “Independent School District” invention and the inherent challenges in the Texas accountability system. Attendees also enjoyed a presentation from a local consultant to reflect on the barriers our members must overcome to feel qualified to engage in politics.
TFA members and alumni in Cleveland
LEE continues to look for new and meaningful ways to engage with members through our partnerships. Check out just a few examples of our collaboration with partners over the past few months.
Please visit our Events page to see all the upcoming regional and national opportunities for members. If you have not yet set up your LEE account, you can do so here using a personal email address.
April 30: New Member Welcome Session
May 9: Registration deadline for Political Leadership Program for People of Color
If you have any upcoming events or opportunities you’d like highlighted in a future Partnership QuarterLEE, or you just want to get in touch, please feel free to email me at sarah.sandoval-mohapatra@educationalequity.org.
We look forward to continuing this quarterly opportunity to collaborate, connect, and celebrate our work together.