Permian Strategic Partnership, Scharbauer Foundation invest $6.1M in school leadership training

Over the next two years, up to 100 principals, assistant principals, teachers and district administrators working to educate students in the Permian Basin will benefit from a $6.1 million investment in leadership training.

The Permian Strategic Partnership (PSP) is contributing $4.6 million to the training initiative, which will be provided by The Holdsworth Center. The Scharbauer Foundation is providing $1.5 million toward the training.

The goal is to equip educators and leaders in education with the tools, skills and top tier training needed to address a growing region experiencing extreme increases in student populations, program officials said.

This spring, Holdsworth will select the first cohort of 24 Permian Basin schools and districts to participate in its 2-year Campus Leadership Program, which helps teams of leaders strengthen their leadership muscles and learn new ways to tackle issues standing in the way of student
success.

“We believe that investing in educational leadership is fundamental for securing a prosperous future in the Permian Basin.”

“We believe that investing in educational leadership is fundamental for securing a prosperous future in the Permian Basin,” said Tracee Bentley, President and CEO of the PSP.

Bentley added that the Holdsworth Center has “proven to be an exceptional partner, equipping public school leaders with the tools, skills and top tier training we need to elevate the quality of education in our region.”

The Permian Strategic Partnership is a first-of-its-kind collaboration of 17 energy companies operating in the Permian Basin. From its founding in 2019 through 2021, PSP turned $93 million in philanthropic investments by its members into $950 million in community support, according to PSP’s annual report for 2021.

PSP consists of Apache, BPX Energy, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Colgate Energy, Coterra Energy, Devon Energy, Diamondback Energy, Endeavor Energy Resources, EOG Resources, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, Occidental Petroleum, Ovintiv, Pioneer Natural Resources, Plains All American, and Schlumberger.

The companies joined forces to work with leaders of the region’s communities to address “current and future challenges to the responsible development of the vast oil and natural gas resources of the Permian Basin in the states of New Mexico and Texas,” PSP stated.

In 2021, PSP reports providing just over $34 million in education investments benefiting over 100,000 students; $41 million in healthcare investment to improve access to the region’s two million residents; and $14.7 million to train the region’s workforce of about 800,000.