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Texas Wesleyan University’s School of Education has secured two major grants totaling more than $1.7 million from the Moody Foundation and the Paul E. Andrews Jr. Foundation to address the statewide teacher pipeline crisis, the university announced Monday.
With the funding, the university has established the Texas Wesleyan University Center for Educator Excellence, a research-informed initiative aimed at strengthening teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention across the Dallas–Fort Worth region.
“With these two grants, we are taking a decisive step to expand teacher training and bolster retention through the Texas Wesleyan University Center for Educator Excellence because cultivating and sustaining great educators is essential for not only student success, but our region and state’s economic vitality,” said Wesleyan President Emily Messer in a statement. “Our university is honored to lead this transformational work for North Texas and beyond.”
The Center for Educator Excellence is a strategic priority for the university and builds on Texas Wesleyan’s long-standing commitment to innovation in teacher preparation.
The initiative is designed to expand research, community partnerships, and professional development offerings over the next several years, with the goal of generating long-term improvements across the North Texas educator workforce.
The Center employs a comprehensive, multi-phase approach grounded in research-supported pathways and best practices, according to a press release. Its work includes targeted recruitment, outreach, wraparound support, and professional development intended to improve teacher quality and reduce attrition. By offering a scalable and sustainable model, the initiative seeks to address workforce shortages and strengthen long-term educator success.
Key focus areas include retention-based academic scholarships, faculty-led research, and professional learning cohorts. Texas Wesleyan faculty are studying critical topics such as teacher and student stress, mental health, social and emotional learning, and family support systems. The Center is also providing cohort-based leadership and professional development for local teachers, school administrators, and district executives.
“These grants represent a powerful investment in the future of education,” said Carlos Martinez, dean of the School of Education. “Texas Wesleyan University has a long history of preparing the next generation of educators, and our Center for Educator Excellence continues our work in creating an intentional, systemic approach to addressing the teacher shortage. We are deeply grateful” to both foundations.