This article examines the development and implementation of P-16 education reform in Texas and aims to understand leadership meaning-making at state and local levels. Findings suggest goal attainment and sustainability varied statewide according to how political actors defined problems and solutions, the type of and extent to which human and financial resources were deployed, and how local actors designed and employed these unique organizational structures. A comparison of both surviving and thriving P-16 governance councils leads to recommendations to better align educational systems across the U.S., improve student achievement, and bolster educational attainment across the preschool to postsecondary pipeline.