In late February, members of the LONESTARP3 community packed up their laptops loaded with slide decks and spreadsheets and headed to Lubbock for our CONNECT in-person convening —two days focused on learning together, building momentum, and strengthening relationships that make this work possible.
All Core LONESTARP3 members arrived with teams in tow, embodying a genuine intellectual curiosity and a strong sense of purpose—each ready to listen, learn, and act. Representatives from three prospective member organizations came to see how this network actually works, up close and in real time. From the start, the tone was unmistakably LONESTARP3: data-driven, community-connected, and candid enough to invite real conversation.
”Great meeting in Lubbock! Our program team connected with many people about advising and counseling to support our statewide work, and our research team felt right at home discussing workforce data and analytics. We are excited and ready to take action.
Reo PruiettChief Program and Engagement Officer, Educate Texas
Sessions flowed across LONESTARP3’s core work streams—Research Collaboratives, the Data Council, and Strategy Teams—with plenty of opportunity for members to spotlight work happening back home. The “Highlight, Insight, and Curiosity” showcased serious thinking paired with playful prompts, reminding everyone that deep work and a sense of humor go hand in hand.
Research Collaboratives shared early insights from their work advancing the Pathways Research Agenda – including honest reflections about what’s working, what’s messy, and what remains uncertain. Members followed with feedback for Collaborative on how they can work together to bring those findings to their communities.
The Data Council session offered hands-on engagement with new Pathways tools, drawing a packed room of data enthusiasts who were abuzz with ideas for ways to put those tools to use. Our policy partners led an equally engaging session, mapping out recommended actions and timelines to prepare and deliver research findings for advocacy partners and district leaders this Fall.
Strategy Team discussions previewed initial research frameworks in areas including teacher workforce, public education funding, and early childhood education, surfacing areas of alignment and productive points of tension. Facilitators captured these rich discussions through notetaking templates, Google Docs, and Qualtrics surveys so we can revise and refine our work in response to our community partners.
Across sessions and conversations, one theme stood out: taking action. Participants reflected on how to ensure research moves beyond journal articles and shows up in classrooms, on campuses, and in policy conversations in a timely way. Members were charged with considering what they can do now to prepare practice and policy partners, align timelines, and support decision-making in anticipation of research findings to be released in the Fall.
In side conversations between sessions, over meals, and after hours, participants reflected on what they were learning and how it might shape next steps—for their organizations, their partners, and LONESTARP3 as a whole. By the close of the convening, there was a shared sense that meaningful progress is underway and an opportunity for impact is within reach.
Thanks to the thoughtful leadership of the Design Team’s Jen Freeman (Texas Tech), Katrina Fraser (Commit Partnership), and Katherine Mortimer (UT El Paso), session activities balanced structure with flexibility, depth with playfulness, and ambition with humanity. The session unified us as a group of trusted collaborators who are moving important work forward, together.
