HPEF Application

The application asks you to reflect on your leadership experience and judgment, including how you engage with people with varying perspectives and how you weigh student needs in complex decisions. It takes most applicants 15 minutes to complete.

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About You

Full Name(Required)

Current Occupation or Professional Role

Email(Required)

Phone Number(Required)

Home Address

Street Address City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code

Preferred Title/Designation

How long have you lived in the Houston area?(Required)

Which of the following best describes your connection to Houston public education?(Required)

Demographic Questions Pending(Required)

Leadership and Public Service

Leadership Experience(Required)

Briefly describe your civic, community, professional, nonprofit, or education leadership experience. What role have you played, and what impact have you had?

Motivation(Required)

Why are you interested in public education leadership, and what do you hope to learn through HPEF?

Community Engagement(Required)

How do you approach building relationships and engaging people with a range of perspectives around important community issues?

How You Think

Working Across Perspectives(Required)

Describe a time when you worked closely with someone whose perspective or approach was different from your own. How did you work together, and what did you take away from the experience?

Student-Centered Leadership(Required)

When considering a major education decision, what questions or factors should leaders consider to ensure student needs and outcomes remain central?

Judgment & Decision-Making(Required)

Public leaders often have to make decisions when data, community input, and stakeholder priorities point in different directions. How would you approach making a decision in that situation?

Systems Thinking(Required)

How do you think about balancing the needs of a particular community or constituency with the needs of the broader school system?

HPEF Readiness

School Board Governance(Required)

How would you describe your current familiarity with school board governance?

Education Policy and District Operations(Required)

How would you describe your current familiarity with education policy and how school districts operate?

School District Budgets and Financial Oversight(Required)

How would you describe your current familiarity with school district budgets and financial oversight?

Kickoff Availability(Required)

The Fellowship begins with an in-person intensive in Houston on November 7–8, 2026. Are you available to participate on both days?

Program Commitment(Required)

HPEF will include 11 sessions between November 2026 and May 2027 through a combination of in-person and virtual sessions. Fellows will also be expected to complete program activities and assignments between sessions. Are you able to make this commitment?

Referral Source(Required)

How did you hear about the Houston Public Education Fellowship?

Student-Centered Leadership Agreement(Required)

HPEF is designed to prepare leaders to approach public education governance with a student-centered, constructive, and nonpartisan mindset. Fellows are expected to keep student outcomes and the needs of students across the district at the center of their participation. Are you willing to uphold this expectation throughout the fellowship?

Houston Public Education Fellowship Application.