TEA Approves Texas-Based Public Charter School to Open 12 New Locations Next School Year
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact(s):
Brittany Taylor / Jim Croswell
btaylor@iltexas.org / jcroswell@iltexas.org
(832) 244-4847 / (210) 862-7453
TEA Approves Texas-Based Public Charter School to Open 12 New Locations Next School Year International Leadership of Texas approved to serve 29,000 students in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston
DALLAS —International Leadership of Texas (ILTexas), a free, public charter school system announces approval from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to add 12 new locations in South Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston for the 2017-2018 school year. The major expansion will authorize ILTexas to serve more than 29,000 students next school year—a 142 percent growth from the previous authorization of 12,000 students.
“On behalf of Texas Charter Schools Association (TCSA), I would like to congratulate Eddie Conger and the entire ILTexas team for receiving TEA’s approval for expansion to 12 new locations in South Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston,” said TCSA’s Executive Director David Dunn. “ILTexas’ exponential growth rate in just three years directly speaks to the success of their programs in providing a quality public education to more than 12,000 students. We look forward to continuing to work with the ILTexas team in serving students and families across the state.”
As part of their trilingual curriculum, ILTexas requires all students to study the English, Spanish and Chinese languages from kindergarten through graduation, which significantly supports former President Bush’s National Security Language Initiative. "ILTexas expanded in its first 36 months to serve over 29,000 students,” said Nina Rees, president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance for Public Charter School. “This unprecedented growth is a clear indication that parents want choices and are attracted to the unique curriculum offered by ILTexas - one that is focused on servant leadership and a multilingual curriculum in English, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.
" In addition to TEA’s approval, ILTexas prepares to open the following five campuses in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Houston this upcoming school year: two kindergarten through eighth grade schools in Grand Prairie and North Richland Hills; a high school in Arlington; and two kindergarten through eighth grade schools in Houston’s Westpark/Alief area and Katy
“We are very humbled yet very excited about the opportunity to serve more students in Texas,” said Superintendent Eddie Conger, a retired Marine Corps Infantry Officer. “We will work tirelessly to honor the trust the parents have granted us to truly prepare their children for significant leadership roles in the future and to honor the trust of the Texas taxpayers to educate our children.”
About International Leadership of Texas
At International Leadership of Texas (ILTexas) our mission is to prepare students for exceptional leadership roles in the international community by emphasizing servant leadership, mastering the English, Spanish and Chinese languages, and strengthening the body, mind and character. ILTexas teaches students from a global perspective with the opportunity to become trilingual, graduate with an associate’s degree and study abroad. Founded in 2012 by retired Marine Corps Infantry Officer and former Dallas Independent School District high school principal Eddie Conger, ILTexas opened its first school in 2013 with over 2,500 students, making it the largest first-year charter in the history of Texas. ILTexas now serves more than 12,000 students with 10 locations spanning across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Houston. For more information, visit iltexas.org.
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