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Making quality accessible: what a well-connected system in El Paso can teach Texas about implementing HB2
Cece Zhou
Category: Pathways into Teaching
This story continues our series examining implementation of the PREP Allotment in Texas’ House Bill 2. Houston part I and part II explore the state's most complex teacher-pipeline market; in this story based in El Paso, we examine how a more tightly-connected system has experienced this statewide policy and what different insights it can pass onto state leaders.
Clifton Tanabe knows that the well-connected education system in El Paso isn’t by chance, despite what others may assume.
Tanabe joined the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) as Dean of the College of Education in 2018, inheriting a college that had cycled through five deans over six years. The university sits on the far west side of the state, bordering Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. A quick 15-minute trip from campus to Scenic Drive offers breathtaking views of the Paso del Norte.
Many in the state refer to the education system in El Paso as a “closed system,” which means that the university produces the majority of the area’s future teachers, at approximately 70 percent. From an outside perspective, it’s easy to assume that share naturally lends UTEP more efficiency and authority in implementing changes in a way that a more complex, concentrated teacher labor market like the one in Houston doesn’t have. But any assumption of “ease” should be challenged; the structures currently in place have been meticulously designed.
“It is a big community, but everybody knows everybody, and you need to figure that out if you're going to get things done here,” said Tanabe of the metro area, which serves nearly 900,000 residents.
The passage of Texas' House Bill 2 last summer includes the PREP Allotment, funding specifically allocated for teacher-preparation programs and school districts to strengthen partnerships, improve instructional quality, and tackle the state’s heavy reliance on uncertified teachers. While news headlines have examined areas like teacher pay and district implementation, much less public attention has been devoted to the PREP Allotment, an unprecedented investment in preparation as a catalyst for change.
We visited UTEP and one of its district partners, Fabens ISD, to better understand how their partnership has experienced implementation.
Fortifying relationships that are already based in trust
Tanabe is deeply relational, but also tenacious.
"In building out a new program that required district partners, I felt that we needed to put some skin in the game," Tanabe said of UTEP's Miner Teacher Residency, its flagship teacher-preparation program that places teachers-in-training in paid, yearlong residencies. He knew it was going to be expensive: "I needed six site coordinators. The budget committee rolled their eyes. I left. I came out with results within a year. I got funded every year after that."
That bet has paid off significantly. Today, the Miner Teacher Residency is one of the most visible teacher-preparation programs in the state, lauded as a “model for the state” by regional funders and policy leaders. Through testimony before the Texas Senate and House education committees, alongside other statewide engagements, Tanabe has championed the model and built the case for state funding of paid, yearlong residencies. HB2's PREP Allotment now provides that funding.
Independent evaluations conducted from 2021-2024 data demonstrated that compared to a statewide matched sample, UTEP residents are the only ones scoring significantly above traditionally-trained teachers on the state’s STAAR exam, translating to roughly 1-2 months of additional student learning. These graduates also show the lowest turnover compared to peer groups at the district and state level, and are more likely to be teaching in high-needs schools in the region.
See calculations for how the PREP allotment will affect expenses in our report, All in on Quality Preparation in Texas.
UTEP partners with multiple districts including Fabens ISD, a rural district about an hour southeast of El Paso. Assistant Superintendent Manuel Aldaco has positive words for the partnership: "They've been superb...they just feel at home." Five years ago, the district was facing shortages of uncertified teachers and an underdeveloped pipeline. Today, their partnership with UTEP has not only helped them eliminate the reliance on uncertified teachers; they now have a wait list for graduates interested in teaching at Fabens. Aide Polanco, director of human resources at Fabens ISD, shares:
Fabens ISD’s partnership with UTEP has not only helped them eliminate the reliance on uncertified teachers; they now have a wait list for graduates interested in teaching at the district.
That trust didn't happen simply because the community is isolated. The university could have demanded that districts align with their vision and decisions. Instead, under Tanabe’s leadership, they chose the opposite: taking intentional steps to get to know their district partners deeply, holding quarterly governance meetings to exchange feedback, and making data-informed improvements over years.
Erika Mein, associate dean for academic affairs and strategic initiatives at UTEP, reflects on the progress they’ve built:
Tanabe’s “skin in the game” appeal to have more site coordinators opened the door for individuals like Patricia Ocana to contribute to the strength of trust they’re enjoying today. Ocana is an assistant professor of instruction at UTEP who serves as a faculty site coordinator for Fabens ISD. She described her role as a “bridge connecting two entities.”
As an example, Ocana taught Martha Perez through UTEP, who now serves as a teacher at O’Donnell Intermediate School at Fabens ISD. Today, as a site coordinator, Ocana continues to serve as Perez’s mentor as she navigates her first year in the classroom. "It's establishing that long-term relationship, that trust," Ocana said. "I think it's just wonderful to have that opportunity to continue working with them...to continue just seeing what started maybe as a class and now it's moved on to their professional life."
And every time Ocana comes to O'Donnell, she's greeted warmly. "You feel like you're walking into your home," she said. "I was just telling the principal today, every time I come here, the ladies at the front desk, they're amazing. And if you go to any classroom, you'll experience the same. They'll welcome you with open arms. Everybody knowing everybody and everybody being invested in the students."
Where HB2 introduces new variables
Trust has carried UTEP in its relationships with many districts in and surrounding the El Paso community. But HB2 introduces additional factors that are trickier in the preparation itself.
New Reading and Math Academy requirements have to be incorporated into degree plans that have already been capped. "We are locked into a 120-credit-hour degree plan," said Joyce Asing-Cashman, assistant dean at UTEP. Adding a required Math Academy course means something else in the curriculum has to be displaced. Mein also reflected that it’s "a heavy lift" for a recent graduate who’s juggling the weight of their first year on top of additional academy requirements.
The state is currently exploring a 90-credit-hour plan to reduce costs for students. Learn more
“Having a runway to put into place was really, really essential for us,” Mein shared. “I think having a runway will help EPPs do it right and have the right people involved in the work." She noted that UTEP benefited from a head start in piloting Reading Academy integration before it became state-mandated, something that many other programs did not have.
Tanabe added that pulling a course in or out isn't simple mathematics. "It's not just flipping a switch, it’s engaging faculty," he said. Even a well-established program like UTEP has had to negotiate timelines and implementation requirements with the state. “Policy creation and policy implementation are two completely different things. There's always a need for fine tuning... All I think we need is a little bit of patience around judgment and some investment in iteration for excellence. We've gotten some support and some flexibility with the agency at this point.”
"It's not just flipping a switch, it’s engaging faculty…Policy creation and policy implementation are two completely different things." -Clif Tanabe
HB2 has both fortified and strengthened existing partnerships for UTEP, and also introduced new pain points. Not unlike the programs in Houston, UTEP sees value in having more support from the state and technical assistance providers to help them make sense of all of the requirements, timelines, and shifts they need to juggle to make it work. For state leaders, the intention behind the change is meaningful. Now on the other side, as Tanabe emphasized, implementation must be handled with care if the state wants to truly see the intent translate successfully into long-term sustainable impact.
