Educate Texas - Philanthropy Advocates

When it comes to raising student achievement, little matters more than the quality of teachers in the classroom. Philanthropy Advocates' Effective Teaching Policy Work Group has focused on producing effective research to inform policy decisions about teacher preparation, teacher mentorship, and other meaningful issues related to ensuring Texas teachers are prepared and supported in their critical and highly impactful careers.

Philanthropy Advocates was formerly known as the Texas Education Grantmakers Advocacy Consortium (TEGAC) until August 2020. Previously-created resources, documents and blog posts mentioning TEGAC are still provided on this website for your reference.

Research: Exploring Impact of Teacher Certification Policy on Educator Workforce

Research by University of Houston, commissioned by Philanthropy Advocates, on Texas teacher certification policies Through both preparation routes and policies permitting uncertified teachers to serve as classroom teachers, there are many routes to prepare teachers to meet workforce demand. In the face of staffing challenges, flexibility is available for school districts to hire uncertified teachers. We aimed to understand the impact of this practice on students and the overall teacher workforce pipeline.

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Smart Start: Mentoring For New Teachers Benefits Kids

To better understand mentorship best practices and the experiences of Texas teachers, Teach Plus Texas examined research on the effectiveness of mentoring programs and conducted a statewide survey of 147 teachers about their experience with mentoring early in their careers. In this report, Teach Plus Texas presents findings and a set of recommendations for states and districts.

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