ILTexas expands in Liberty County with new high school campus

International Leadership of Texas (ILTexas), a public charter school district, broke ground Thursday, March 27, on its new high school campus in the Colony Ridge community, marking a major step forward in expanding educational opportunities in northwest Liberty County.

The future ILTexas Liberty High School, scheduled to open in summer 2026, will serve more than 1,000 students and graduate its first senior class in 2027. The campus will be located next to ILTexas MSG Ramirez K-8 at 1954 Road 5714 and will receive students from two nearby K-8 campuses, each with enrollment exceeding 1,300.

Though it shares a similar name, ILTexas Liberty High School is not affiliated with Liberty High School in the city of Liberty, which is part of the Liberty ISD. The ILTexas high school campus is part of a growing charter school network that operates independently across Texas.

Thursday’s ceremonial groundbreaking, moved indoors due to weather, was attended by students from the district’s K-8 campuses, along with cadets from ILTexas Liberty High School’s Marine Corps Junior ROTC program, and dignitaries. ILTexas is home to the largest MCJROTC program in the country.

Founder and Superintendent Eddie Conger, a retired Marine Corps Infantry Officer, addressed the crowd with a personal message about service, education and opportunity.

“I grew up in a small town in Texas until I had the opportunity to be a Marine Corps officer,” Conger said. “I recalled looking into my uncle’s yearbook from boot camp and seeing that on the front page there was a commanding general who had attended Texas A&M University.”

Impressed by the general’s accomplishments, Conger determined that he was also going to attend Texas A&M.

He continued, “I have had the privilege to serve America for 20 years as a Marine Corps Infantry Officer. And after retiring, with a lot of help from a lot of friends and others, we were able to start ILTexas. I’m telling you that today with over 25,000 kids across Texas who are learning servant leadership, who are living out others before self, who are learning three important languages, both economically and for security reasons, I can sleep at night knowing that America is going to be okay.”

Conger urged the audience to take note of the transformation happening through ILTexas schools.

“I hope that you will take from this little snippet of what our students are learning and who our students are to be able to help spread the positive word of what young men and women can learn and can be,” he said. “Our students at ILTexas are getting into some of the top universities in America. Not only do we have more kids studying this national security language, Chinese, than any school system in America, we have the largest JROTC program of any school system in the country. About 20 percent of our cadets go on to serve in the military in some capacity either directly or at college and on scholarships.”

“Kids are getting into these universities because they’re learning these four languages. Three languages, I’m sorry. The fourth language has got to be Aggie,” he added, drawing laughs from the audience. “They’re getting scholarships because when they stand before those scholarship committees, they’re telling those alumni what they are going to do with that degree. Kids don’t normally talk that way. Our kids are truly learning others before self. They are learning, strengthening the mind and body, and character.”

Conger said that learning doesn’t just happen during the school year. Students, he explained, are also using their summers to expand their skills.

“We are able to take our top 4 percent of students each year to Washington, D.C. One of the many places that we go besides the State Department is the Pentagon. We go to the Chinese embassy, and what we hear is the same message. There aren’t a lot of young Americans who know that national security language (Chinese),” he said. “That training is giving students a leg-up not only with scholarships and college entrance qualifications, it opens opportunities for them to work in national intelligence.”

Griselle Diaz Millet, principal of ILTexas Liberty High School, called the groundbreaking a defining moment for the Cleveland community.

“Today we break ground on our permanent building that will shape the future of education for generations to come in this community,” Diaz Millet said. “First and foremost, I want to extend my gratitude to all those who have worked tirelessly to bring us to this day — to our school board, our faculty, the architects, and the contractors — because your dedication has made this dream a reality. And to our students, our parents, nuestros padres, our community members, los miembros de la comunidad, your support and enthusiasm have been the driving force behind everything that we do here at ILTexas Liberty High School.”

She added, “Thank you for being here today and for being part of the historical moment for our school. We are truly excited about the future of ILTexas Liberty High School, and we look forward to the bright futures of every student who will walk through these doors. Now let’s mark the beginning of this exciting new chapter by breaking ground. Together we are laying the foundation for something extraordinary. Thank you, gracias, xièxiè.”

ILTexas operates 26 campuses across Texas and has more than 25,000 students enrolled statewide. Every ILTexas student is required to graduate trilingual and complete a servant leadership curriculum led by Major General Craig Timberlake, Marine Corps (Ret.).

The district’s first campus in Liberty County, ILTexas BG Ramirez K-8, quickly reached capacity following its opening in 2022. That demand led to the opening of ILTexas MSG Ramirez K-8 and now, the construction of ILTexas Liberty High School to serve the growing student population in Colony Ridge.