Dallas County Consortium for Teacher Excellence Supports High-Quality Educator Preparation Across Our Region

Teachers are the most important in-school factor impacting student success. But, following the COVID-19 pandemic, a shrinking teacher pipeline, and systemic barriers to a career in education, school systems across Texas have increasingly relied on instructors who lack certification to fill teaching vacancies.

As a growing number of uncertified teachers enter classrooms, student learning is directly affected. Research comparing students taught by fully certified teachers to those taught by uncertified teachers with no prior classroom experience shows cumulative losses equivalent to nearly three to four months of learning in reading and math, two foundational subjects critical to long term academic success.  

Research also shows that uncertified teachers in Texas are less likely to stay in the classroom than those prepared through traditional or alternative pathways, ultimately creating more costs and hiring challenges for our school systems. Addressing these challenges requires more than isolated interventions. It calls for a coordinated, cross-district approach to strengthening educator preparation and early career support. When teachers are well prepared and supported, students are better positioned to thrive.

Over the past year, the Commit Partnership has convened Dallas County school districts, educator preparation programs, and ecosystem partners to co-design solutions that respond to these challenges. This collaborative effort, known as the Dallas County Consortium for Teacher Excellence, brings together partners across systems to strengthen preparation, support, and retention for educators serving Dallas County students. The vision of the Consortium is to create a thriving teacher workforce that unlocks opportunity for every student in Dallas County.  

The Dallas County Consortium for Teacher Excellence is advancing a coordinated set of strategies designed to improve educator readiness and persistence. This year, the Consortium has set a shared goal of increasing the total number of certified teachers in Dallas County by 2.5%. To meet this goal, they are focused on creating shared supports for teacher candidates across districts and educator preparation programs, such as strengthening data sharing and alignment to improve candidate outcomes, piloting certification exam workshops, and creating a certification resource toolkit for district and EPP staff supporting uncertified candidates.  

The Consortium is also supporting partners with accessing the Preparing and Retaining Educators through Partnership (PREP) Program Allotment. Established in House Bill 2 and passed by the Texas Legislature last year, the PREP Allotment provides new funding for school systems and educator preparation programs to strengthen the quality of teacher recruitment, preparation, and mentorship leading to increased educator effectiveness and retention.

Through these intentional efforts, the Consortium aims to add approximately 700 certified new hires by the 2026-2027 school year, expanding access to well-prepared educators for thousands of students across Dallas County. However, reaching these outcomes requires deep collaboration across the educator preparation and K 12 systems.

The Commit Partnership is serving as the backbone organization driving this work forward by coordinating efforts, facilitating collaboration, engaging stakeholders, and ensuring progress is monitored and milestones are met. While Commit will lead the overall initiative, the success of this work depends on the active engagement, shared ownership, and partnership of educator preparation programs, school districts, and other ecosystem partners.

"This gathering allows us to have intentional targets that we want to establish. Ultimately, those changes will lead to more teachers staying in education, and in the end, students have better results," said George Aramath, Senior Director of Talent Development & Pathways at Uplift Education.

Together, these partners are building a more aligned, sustainable, and supportive pathway for teacher certification and early career success across Dallas County, strengthening classrooms today and the educator workforce for years to come

To learn more about the Dallas County consortium for Teacher Excellence, contact Commit’s Managing Director of Educator Development, Chelsea Valdez, at Chelsea.Valdez@commitpartnership.org.