Meet Tedrick (Ted) Holmes | Executive Director and Lead School Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tedrick (Ted) Holmes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tedrick (Ted), can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Honestly, I was very apprehensive about starting my own business. However, seeing the need in the community where I grew up and the surrounding areas pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and pursue my dream to help others and make the world a better place. Another reason was to leave a legacy for my children as well as the next generation. I served for 20 years in the U.S. Army and when it was time to transition, I wanted to do something that still provided me with the same sense of purpose and fulfillment. When I retired from the Army, I believe that God lined things up to bring me to my current position as an Executive Director and proposed lead school founder of Houston L.E.A.D. Preparatory Academy

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My wife and I are proposing a public K-12 school in Northeast Houston that have a few key design elements that set us apart from others. We are proposing a school that uses asset (project) based learning. We want our scholars to be able to apply what they learn by completing hands-on real-world projects. Another key design element is service-based learning. Most projects will also be service-based and allow scholars to use their projects to solve real-world problems that are occurring in their neighborhood or city. Finally, what makes us really unique is that our proposed school focuses on students with autism. 1:44 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This data accounts for students that have been identified, however many students in black and brown communities are identified late or never identified at all. If you look at the enrollment data of the largest school districts in the Greater Houston area and compare them to that statistic, there are 6000+ students with ASD.

I have had a long, exciting, and eclectic career. I graduated from Nimitz High School in the Aldine School District in the top 10% of my class. I started college at Baylor University as a Biology/Pre-Med major. Like many first-generation college students, I had the intelligence and talent to be successful in college, but I didn’t have the discipline or support. What I mean by support, is someone that could help walk me through how to be successful in college. I didn’t have access to mentors growing up and my family knew less than I did about the pitfalls and landmines that could derail one’s college experience. I finished my first year with a 1.7 and 1.8 GPA. I also found out my girlfriend (now my wife) was pregnant. That summer I joined the Army Reserves and transferred back home to Houston to attend the University of Houston. After a few years of working part-time at multiple jobs including Sears and as a Cutco Knives salesman, I decided to go to the Active Duty Army. 20 years later with some hiccups along the way, I completed my Army career with AA, BS, and MA degrees. I can recall having to email my professors because I missed a deadline due to being bombed while in Iraq or having to change majors or take classes at multiple colleges because one didn’t have the prerequisite that I needed. I think I have about 20 transcripts. I became an IT expert and deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Korea. It wasn’t until the end of my military career that I even considered education as a career field. My goal was to retire from the Army and find a high-paying tech job in Austin or the surrounding Killeen area. My plan changed drastically over my last few years in the Army. I lost 6 family members between 2012-2016. I lost multiple soldiers during that time to either suicide or things that were preventable. Dealing with 20 years of war and the loss of loved ones and close friends takes a toll on anyone. I leaned into what brought me joy and for me, it was always helping and serving others. I’m also always a supporter of the underdog and willing to fight for what’s good and right. During that time, I adopted a life mission of “Help others and Make the World a better place”. I reflected on my career and realized that I felt the most joy when I was pouring into the next generation whether it was helping young soldiers enroll in college or throwing small children on a velcro wall while volunteering at local schools. I knew to work in education, I needed credentials. I thought about being a teacher, but there were a few concerns. My wife was a teacher and while living off of two teacher salaries is feasible it’s hard. The second is that I stutter and while it’s barely noticeable sometimes, it’s still there. While going through the process of leaving the Army I came across a program named The Broad Residency. The original program transitions high-capacity leaders from other career fields into education management. You are then matched with a state education agency, Charter Management Organization (CMO), or traditional school system. During this two-year program, I matched with the Louisiana Department of Education and was able to learn while actually working in a Director’s position. I helped to write the curriculum for a course named “Quest for Success” which is taught in classrooms throughout Louisiana and the country, helped to introduce and write new state education policy, and learned the politics of education. The program culminated with my earning an M.Ed. in Education Leadership. The end of the program coincided with the beginning of COVID in the United States and the need to quickly transition to online learning. Sensing the need at the local school systems and wanting to gain experience at every level of education, I transitioned to a small CMO as the Regional Director of IT and then eventually to a larger network as a Regional Director of Operations. I also earned a third Master’s degree. It was at this point that I felt that I was ready to step out on faith and pursue my wife and I’s dream of opening a school dedicated to students with autism.

The journey to where I am today hasn’t been easy, but it was worth it. I was raised in some of the roughest neighborhoods in Houston. I was raised in Kashmere Garden and Haverstock Hill apartments. For people familiar with Houston and the violence associated with the city, these names will be very familiar. Also, I grew up with a severe stutter, which like autism, is considered neurodiversity. If you throw that in with being a poor black boy from Houston, that’s normally a recipe for underachievement. Because I couldn’t communicate well, many people assumed that I wasn’t as intelligent or smart as others. Because of my zip code, many didn’t want to invest the time because statistics would tell you that I was doomed from my first breath. This lack of belief in me from some teachers, peers, and adults sometimes, fueled my achievement. While I didn’t have the resources and support that others had, I knew that I could do better in education because I had suffered more adversity, and set goals for myself, and at the time I thought it was an even playing field.

10 lessons that I have learned along the way are:

1. Don’t live with regret
2. You can’t hit any balls that you don’t swing at
3. Fail forward. There is nothing wrong with falling, just don’t stay down there. Fail often and fail quickly until you get to where you need to be.
4. People matter!!!
5. Be kind
6. Unless you have a certain amount of power or authority, an organization will change you before you will change it.
7. Children are our legacy. Pour into them like you are pouring precious oil into a container.
8 . Get the right people in the right seat on the bus
9. Continue to sharpen the saw
10. If you aren’t offered a seat at the table, sometimes you have to build your own.

I just want to let the world know that “We’re Coming”!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’ve just moved back to Houston, so I am still getting reacquainted with the city. I would invite them to the Houston Livestock and Rodeo. The first stop would be the Black Heritage Western Gala. I don’t really do clubs, but I would check in with my brother who’s a promoter at Prospect Park and Kamp, and probably take them there. The Houston Millennials always have something going on, so I would connect with my good friend Anita Blue, who is their director of membership, and attend one of their networking events. We would have to catch a Rocket’s game and spend some time down at Discovery Green. I’m an amateur foodie, so Turkey Leg Hut and some of my other favorite restaurants would be added to the list. No trip to Texas or Houston wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the trifecta, Buc-ees, HEB, and Whataburger.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so many people that have helped me along the way as well as provided inspiration and support. My wife is my biggest fan. She followed me around the country while I served and put her dream on hold for a long time while I pursued mine. She motivated me to step into the education field. I watched her work with students with autism for years and achieve awesome results. She poured tirelessly into others and has always been an example of servant leadership.

Next, it would be my mother. We grew up poor, but I didn’t know it. I always had clean clothes and something to eat. My mother always found a way to get us what we needed, whether it was getting help from my grandparents or working extra jobs. I witnessed her go from living in section 8 apartments to managing those very same apartments and eventually opening a string of successful tax offices. She showed me that with hard work, nothing is impossible and it doesn’t matter where you start but it’s more about where you finish.

I would be remiss not to shout out my kids. They are my motivation and the reason that I do what do. I believe that the only thing that we leave on this earth that matters when we are gone is the next generation, so we must pour into them. My children have sacrificed so much by sharing me with the world and probably will continue to as I complete this entrepreneurial journey. However, I plan on taking them with me as much as I can so they are able to learn.

Finally, to all of the leaders that poured into me along the way, I am eternally grateful. The Army, Broad Residency, Louisiana Department of Education, BES Fellowship, and other organizations have helped me become the leader that I am today, funded my dream, and provided me with the opportunity to learn important skills and valuable life lessons.

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