GOING BEYOND TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK TO TRAIN, SUPPORT, AND RETAIN HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATORS FOR EL PASO STUDENTS
Every child deserves a high-quality education and a high-quality education starts with strong teachers!
You may be lucky enough to recall one or two special teachers who made a difference in your life. Perhaps they saw potential in you, provided support during a tumultuous period, or opened your eyes to entire fields of learning you never knew existed.
If you had a teacher like this, you know what study after study has shown: trained, motivated, experienced teachers help students excel– academically and beyond.
That’s why CREEED has made support for teachers one of the key pillars in our decade-long effort to improve educational attainment for all students in El Paso. We work with UTEP and local school districts to train and retain the best teachers so every El Paso student can succeed in school and graduate prepared for academic, professional, and personal success.
Our ongoing initiatives target teachers at every level, including:
Hands-on training for aspiring teachers. A new teacher should be confident and set up for success from the moment they first enter the classroom. Thanks to over $3.16 million in support from the Prentice Farrar Brown & Alline Ford Brown Foundation, CREEED worked with the El Paso Community Foundation and UTEP College of Education to create the Miner Teacher Residency Program.
The residency program has placed 485 College of Education students in classrooms across the region for hands-on training, working alongside a local, experienced educator for a year before obtaining their own teaching credential.
Mentorship for new teachers. The first years in a classroom are critical to establish strong habits and convert enthusiasm for teaching into academic results. Through the Miner Teacher Mentorship Program, teachers early in their careers are paired with an experienced educator or coach for hands-on guidance and support in the classroom. Since 2021, 170 teachers have participated in the mentorship program at Canutillo, Fabens, and Tornillo ISDs.
Dual-credit certification scholarships for current teachers. Dual-credit courses give high school students the opportunity to earn college credits, often for free. But for students to participate in these courses, middle and high school teachers must have the certification needed to teach dual-credit courses. So CREEED launched a $1 million scholarship fund to help El Paso educators obtain these credentials.
Since 2017, we have provided more than 360 scholarships totaling more than $720,000 to help teachers become dual-credit certified. As a result, the number of local students enrolled in dual-credit classes has more than tripled.
Inspiring the next generation of educators. As CREEED enters its second decade, we want to grow the next generation of teachers. This month we will be announcing the first recipients of our Excelencia Scholarship for Future Educators, a new scholarship fund that will award up to 8 qualified graduating high school seniors interested in pursuing a college degree in education with a one-time $2,500 scholarship to support their college journey.
We are excited to build on our work to ensure every student and classroom in El Paso is equipped with strong, motivated and skilled teachers.