The program is made up of sixteen education professionals who seek to heighten their knowledge and polish their skills in leadership and public policy. This year's class includes representatives from all over the state of Texas.

Northcutt said she was made aware of the program from a former professor at Texas Tech. She said as she researched it more, she knew it was the right choice to apply.

“It’s a ten-month intensive professional development program for emerging and middle-level leaders in the field of education,” Northcutt said. “We will network together to really broaden our experiences with education policy and what is happening right now specifically.”Northcutt said this program will not only enhance her leadership skills but will help her develop more knowledge about Texas education policy.

“We get handed all these policies and things we have to go by, things we can do within our classroom and can’t do within our classroom, so I think it is important to know how those policies came about,” Northcutt said.

Northcutt explained that she is eager to learn more about Texas education policy and is ready to grow herself and also be able to bring back her knowledge and experience to share with her team at North Ridge.

“We will have monthly online meetings starting in October, we are doing a Fall Leadership Forum in Austin, and in the spring, we are doing a four-day policy seminar in Washington D.C.,” Northcutt said. “I think it will be really cool to see it at the state level and then the national level as well.”

Northcutt said following the program they will have a graduation ceremony.

Read more about Northcutt and the 2020-2021 TX-EPFP class here.