Transforming K-12 Public Schooling
Texas TransformED Ambitious plans to transform public education in Texas.
We are bringing together unlikely partners—business leaders + teachers + parents to make Texas the number one state for public education in America.
We are fiercely independent, nonpartisan, and focused on data-driven solutions that prepare 100% of high school graduates for college, military, trades, or first jobs through deep mastery of reading, math, writing, speaking, and leading.
Texas’ graduation rate is 90%, but only 54% of these students are prepared for college, military, trades, or first jobs.
Texas is #1 for economic development and business but #44 in public education.
Currently, 54% of Americans read below a 6th grade level, and 20% of those read below 3rd grade level.
7 of 10 high school kids do not earn a college degree after graduating from our high schools.
Only 49% of 3rd graders and 35% of 8th graders read at grade level.
Only 42% of 3rd graders and 35% of 8th graders can do math at grade level.
Less than 46% of high school kids meet grade level standards for Algebra 1.
Only 57% of high school kids meet grade level of English/Writing.
Teachers are the #1 determinant of student success on the school side, yet only 56% of our teachers are certified or trained.
We believe that ranking 44th in the nation for the number one item in our state budget is an urgent challenge we must confront head-on.
We believe in world-class opportunities for all learners. Education fuels our economy and helps 5.5 million children achieve their full potential. We must get it right.
We believe deep, systemic, and radical change is needed urgently, or Texas will experience a talent and welfare crisis. We cannot continue to make incremental changes; we need a sweeping overhaul by bold leadership.
Institutionalize existing data on school performance, including financial metrics, to create transparency for all stakeholders and rewards for Tier 1 performance and growth. Texas has just passed legislation for $8.5 billion in new education spending, with no program in place to measure the outcomes or impact, and without addressing the $7 billion in waste currently in the system.
In reality, school districts operate like businesses. They need stronger qualifications for board members to attract business leaders who have run multi-million and multi-billion-dollar entities. Texas needs a new path to the superintendent’s job for business leaders and military leaders who have a proven track record of delivering measured results and fostering cultural change.
Texas is ranked #1 for business due to its low regulatory burden. The business of education is overregulated, which stifles innovation. We need to provide specific powers to TEA, to districts, and to schools. It should not require expensive and time-consuming legislative decisions for every rule related to schooling.
62% of school customers are economically disadvantaged. We must identify and eliminate academic barriers to achievement among low socioeconomic learners. Stop declaring and adjusting around the idea that poor kids cannot learn. We need to innovate to implement radical and unconventional interventions that help all students reach their full potential.
Focus on Reading and Skills-based learning- divide ELA curriculum into two (2) core subjects: Reading/Literature and Writing/Speaking. Requires students to read 1M words of real literature (not basal readers) per school year after early phonics mastery. Develop a shared canon of literature based on Lexile. Explicitly teach grammar, spelling, and writing in the same manner we explicitly teach phonics. Create opportunities for every learner to master public speaking at every grade level.
Allow district take-overs after three (3) consecutive years of failure, not five (5)
Elevate professional teachers through rigorous on-the-job training. Enhance CTE to focus on curriculum training before they teach it. Increase base pay to attract high-performing professionals from additional tracks. Reward performance with greater autonomy and pay. Stop forcing teachers to act as police; remove distractions and behavioral problems from the classroom.
There should be 5 tracks provided for high school students:
- Rigorous Classical College Prep
- Skills-based College Prep
- 2 Years & 2 Year Apprenticeships
- 2 Years & 2 Years Trade School
- 2 Years & 2 Years of Entrepreneurship
Develop Financial Literacy Training from basic to advanced concepts. Deliver instruction through industry experts and online course offerings provided by third-party vendors.
Fund eye-tracking testing and treatment through 3rd parties in K-6, which is commonly disguised as dyslexia.
School districts are multi-million dollar businesses. They are currently misaligned with the economy and operating without best practices in leadership, stewardship, or innovation. Texas TransformED is a data-driven movement to rebuild K–12 culture around financial discipline, transparency, and leadership opportunities for a new pool of business talent.
Scholarly research indicates that teachers are the #1 determinant of student achievement on the school side (parents are overall #1). You are the front line, and you did not become a teacher to read scripts and manage bad behavior. You should be the highest paid professional on a school campus, and fully supported by the administration. If you have a track record for closing achievement gaps, you should lead and drive innovation, not answer to bureaucrats.
We believe every child deserves deep instruction to mastery in reading, writing, speaking and math delivered by professional teachers, and a school that prepares them for life—not bureaucracy. You're the customer. It's time the system worked for you.
You are leading during the most transformational era in public education. With AI reshaping everything, we need to take bold steps together to make Texas #1 in public schooling. It’s time to reduce regulation and empower innovation where it matters most-- the business of schooling.
Our Co-Founders
Robbye Kirkpatrick
Robbye holds a 360-degree view of public schooling. As a highly mobile child, she experienced first-hand what it’s like to fall between gaps.
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Ashley B. Cash
Having grown up with learning disabilities, Ashley knows firsthand the life-changing power of early intervention.
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