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The main goal of this planning project is to co-design the Rural Educational Alliance for Postsecondary Success - a sustainable postsecondary success initiative for rural Texas students that strengthens and expands the teacher pipeline. Through collaboration among ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ, El Paso Community College, The University-School Partnerships for the Renewal of Educator Preparation (US PREP) National Center, and up to eight rural school districts in West Texas, the project will build and extend cross-sector partnerships, center local context and needs, and develop a shared implementation proposal with clearly defined goals, outcomes, and activities. 

The planning period will lay the foundation for a scalable model that increases access to high-quality teacher preparation pathways and supports rural districts in recruiting, preparing, and retaining future educators from their own communities. This is important because it addresses two interconnected and urgent challenges facing rural West Texas communities: limited postsecondary access for rural students, and persistent teacher shortages in high-need school districts. 

By strengthening local teacher pipelines and expanding access to higher education, this initiative will help rural districts grow their own educators, improve educational outcomes for rural students, and establish a scalable model of collective impact that can be replicated across rural Texas.

¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ (Dean Clifton Tanabe and Dr. Erika Mein), EPCC, US PREP, and partner rural school districts include Anthony ISD, Fabens ISD, Fort Davis ISD, Fort Hancock ISD, and Tornillo ISD, with the potential for additional partner districts. 

The project team is especially excited about the opportunity to build deep, authentic partnerships with rural school districts across the West Texas Borderlands. The awarding of this grant also includes an invitation to submit an invitation-only implementation grant proposal to the Moody Foundation’s Rural M-Pact Fund to support full implementation of the Rural Educational Alliance for Postsecondary Success.