Located in far West Texas on the border with New Mexico and Mexico, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) serves a student population that is more than 80% Hispanic, more than 70% Pell-eligible, and nearly 50% first-generation college-going. As the only four-year, Texas-based institution of higher education within a 200-mile radius, the UTEP College of Education is the primary preparer of teachers for the greater El Paso region, which includes nine school districts serving more than 160,000 PK-12 students.
Building long-term partnerships for collective impact is central to the UTEP College of Education’s work in both research and teaching. The Miner Teacher Residency is a strong example of this approach in action.
Miner Teacher Residency
The Miner Teacher Residency, which centers on partnerships, is part of a broader effort to strengthen the teacher pipeline in El Paso. Its goal is to prepare top-quality teachers who are ready from day one to support diverse learners and provide strong learning experiences for all students. The residency serves as the final clinical experience in UTEP’s teacher preparation program.
Candidates co-teach alongside a trained mentor teacher for a full academic year at one of more than 40 partner campuses in seven districts, with most candidates receiving a stipend. Residents are coached and supported by a UTEP Site Coordinator, who serves as a full-time clinical faculty member housed in partner school districts. More than 650 candidates have completed the residency since 2019, and early partnership data show that residency-prepared teachers consistently outperform other-prepared beginning teachers on their teacher evaluation ratings.
At the heart of the model is shared governance with district partners, in which UTEP leadership and Site Coordinators meet quarterly with district leaders and campus principals to review candidate and programmatic performance data, all toward the goal of continuous improvement.
The region-wide backbone structure is the El Paso Educator Pipeline Community of Practice (CoP), co-convened quarterly by UTEP and the El Paso Community Foundation. CoP members include leaders from local school districts, the El Paso Community College, ESC 19, technical assistance, and philanthropy.
Partners meet annually at the Region-Wide Residency and Teacher Pipeline Summit to share data and track progress. District partners have reported hiring 75-80% of resident graduates/year, on average, over the last three years and an overall reduction in vacancies—in part tied to the pipeline created by the UTEP residency.
The CoP is also where new initiatives begin, such as Pipeline to Leadership (P2L), which works to create more ways into teaching and rethink teacher roles on campuses.
With funding from the El Paso Community Foundation and support from the Paso del Norte Partnership for Education Research, P2L is expanding research-practice partnerships with UTEP College of Education and local school districts.
UTEP’s program has become a model for high-quality residencies and has informed key policy developments, including the Enhanced Standard Certification pathway from the State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) and the PREP Allotment in HB 2 passed in the 2025 Texas Legislative session.
To learn more about the Miner Teacher Residency, contact Erika Mein. For details about Paso del Norte Partnership for Education Research, contact Katherine Mortimer.
