AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dr. David Anthony, superintendent of Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, has accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer of Raise Your Hand Texas. Additional staff will be announced in the coming months. Dr. Anthony, 58, is a native of Florien, Louisiana, and attended public schools there. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education, a Master of Education in Administration and Supervision, and a Doctorate in Secondary Education.
Prior to accepting the position of superintendent in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, he served in the same capacity in McKinney ISD, Texas City ISD, Mount Pleasant ISD, and High Island ISD.
He has led Cy-Fair ISD since 2004, during which time the district has become the third largest school district in Texas with more than 105,000 students. CFISD is the largest district in Texas to hold the Recognized accountability rating and has earned that status for three consecutive years. The district earned a Five Star rating in the Comptroller’s Financial Allocation System of Texas (FAST) program and was recognized as one of the most efficient districts in Texas by the Education Resource Group.
“The leadership opportunities afforded me have been great learning experiences. Adapting to the changes in the accountability, assessment, and funding systems for public education has validated the importance of quality teachers and administrators in meeting the academic needs of students. The teachers and support staff of CFISD are committed to excellence in education for all of our students. Despite the budget reductions that we have made during the past four years, our students have demonstrated improved performance on state assessments.
“The mission of Raise Your Hand Texas is focused on ensuring that all students are provided an opportunity for a quality education that will prepare them for a productive future. It is an honor and a privilege to be selected to work with this organization,” says Dr. David Anthony.
“We are excited to have someone of Dr. Anthony’s experience and ability join us as we work toward higher student achievement in Texas. We are confident his leadership of our policy team and researchers will strengthen our mission on behalf of Texas students. Our group looks forward to collaborating with other public education advocates on this critical endeavor for the state,” says Charles Butt, Chairman of H-E-B who founded Raise Your Hand Texas in 2006.
Raise Your Hand Texas’ main areas of focus include leveraging the power of school leaders through the RYHT Leadership Program and working to change the perception of public education to that of an investment, not a cost.
In the 2007 and 2009 legislative sessions, RYHT was actively involved in supporting legislation to provide voluntary high quality full-day pre-k, developing a fair and accurate accountability system, and creating multiple pathways for high school graduation to help Texas students become college and workforce ready for the 21st century.
In this year’s legislative session, RYHT is working to protect formula funding for public schools and maintain grant funding for pre-k.
RYHT believes strong leadership is vital to improving student achievement, and the organization is committed to strengthening the professional corps of Texas school leaders. As of summer 2011, RYHT will have invested over $4 million in professional development for over 500 Texas principals who provide powerful leadership to an estimated 20,000 teachers and 350,000 students in the state’s public schools.
The initiatives of RYHT are aimed at supporting the public education system so that our economy remains strong. A component of that mission is helping the public understand the complex facts and statistics surrounding public education. RYHT strives to provide education advocates with credible and straightforward sources of information so that they can take meaningful action.
Raise Your Hand Texas is a grassroots, bipartisan advocacy organization made up of community and business leaders, educators and taxpayers from around the state. Its focus is to ensure that all Texas students receive a quality education in order to become college and workforce ready for the 21st century.