​What Your Network Membership Includes

Convene: A seat at the statewide table​

Friends brings together superintendents, campus leaders, higher education partners, workforce leaders, and community organizations through our annual Leadership Summit and Friend of the Year Dinner. District leaders also help shape Friends' statewide direction through the Friends Leadership Advisory Council (FLAC). When your district joins, you have a seat at the table, from the Summit and Dinner to opportunities to weigh in through FLAC.

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Translate: Tools that build trust ​

Trust in public education isn't automatic. Friends gives districts practical tools to build it:

• The Friends Trust Framework: a working model for strengthening relationships with staff, families, students, and communities​​

• The Texas Benefits List: a survey-driven resource articulating what Texas public schools make possible, ready to use in your communications

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Activate: Visibility and direct support ​

Your district's students and educators deserve a statewide stage. Friends creates those moments:

• ​​Friends Teacher of the Year Award: recognition for an outstanding educator from a member district, with a $1,000 classroom grant and a celebration at the Friend of the Year Dinner

• ​Student scholarships: annual opportunities for graduating seniors in member districts

• ​Back-to-school classroom wishlist fulfillment and Teacher Appreciation Week gift cards: direct support for the educators working in your schools every day

• Celebrate Texas Public Schools' CTE student contest platform (in partnership with TSPRA, produced by We Go Public) that gives your students visibility beyond your zip code​

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Amplify: Your stories, distributed statewide​

• Friends distributes the stories of member districts—students, teachers, programs, milestones—across our statewide channels: video, social, editorial, and partner networks. When something remarkable is happening in your district, Friends helps make sure Texas knows about it.

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Investment

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Annual district membership: $500.

​NOTE: If your district needs financial assistance to pay for the annual membership, we work with business partners to help underwrite your dues. Select that option on the membership form.​​

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HB 1495: 0% of your membership dues goes to directly or indirectly influence or attempt to influence the outcome of legislation or administrative action.

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Ready to Join?

​​​​Complete the Network Membership Sign-Up form or schedule a 30-minute conversation with our Partnerships and Engagement team to talk it through first.​

Reach out HERE and let's talk.​

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