Innovation in Action
Leadership Academy Network | Empower Schools
Innovation Schools are locally designed public schools that remain part of their districts while gaining greater flexibility over curriculum, staffing, budgets, schedules, and programming. Formal partnerships provide additional expertise and support while holding schools accountable for ambitious student outcomes.
In this Empower Schools webinar, Partner Matt Matera speaks with educators from the Leadership Academy Network, an SB 1882 partnership between Fort Worth ISD and Texas Wesleyan University. The team shares how flexibility, accountability, teacher development, university resources, and close attention to student data helped transform a group of historically underperforming schools.
Speakers include Dr. Priscila Dilley, Senior Officer of the Leadership Academy Network; Dr. Whitney Clark, Executive Director of Academics; Dr. Julissa Gomez, Assistant Principal at the Leadership Academy at John T. White; and Mary Mosley, Academic Content Specialist.
Video highlights:
00:18: Matt Matera introduces Innovation Schools and explains how flexibility, accountability, nonprofit partnerships, and community-centered design distinguish them from traditional school structures
02:13: Leadership Academy Network educators introduce their roles and the team responsible for supporting academics, campus leadership, and instructional improvement
04:25: Dr. Priscila Dilley explains how the SB 1882 partnership allows the network to adjust curriculum, staffing, budgets, calendars, and schedules in response to individual campus and student needs
07:03: The team describes its Grow Your Own initiative, mentoring structure, scholarships, career pathways, teacher autonomy, and financial incentives, which contributed to nearly 90 percent teacher retention over three years
11:52: Dr. Whitney Clark connects teacher retention to student outcomes, including child-level data analysis, flexible staffing, and looping teachers with the same students across multiple grade levels
16:12: Dr. Dilley reflects on early implementation challenges, including building a teacher development system, coordinating across a university and school district, and continually explaining the partnership’s mission and structure
19:41: The panel shares how Texas Wesleyan University contributed bilingual education expertise, a customized teacher residency, and graduate education opportunities for more than 60 educators
23:04: Dr. Dilley offers advice to other communities considering Innovation Schools and explains why a formal partnership does not mean a district gives up its role or responsibility
24:56: The panel explains how flexibility works through the performance contract, including selecting curriculum, redesigning instructional blocks, changing the school calendar, and frontloading professional development
26:34: The team highlights a Friday enrichment model that gives students additional experiences while providing teachers with three hours of collaborative planning time
28:29: Dr. Gomez and Dr. Dilley close with lessons about educator growth, shared language, collaboration, looking at the child behind the data, and retaining mission-driven people
Best for: District and school leaders, higher education partners, school board members, teacher talent leaders, policymakers, and community organizations exploring Innovation Schools or SB 1882 partnerships.
