‘Start with what you have’: What it takes to strengthen the teacher pipeline

At the close of the Texas Educator Workforce Summit hosted by TNTP(opens in new window), one word buzzed in attendees’ minds: challenge.

Faced with teacher shortages, certification requirements, and shifting student needs, the group questioned how the region could build a sustainable workforce that keeps effective educators in classrooms for the long term. 

A final panel discussion, featuring Kelvey Oesner, deputy commissioner of educator system support at Texas Education Agency; Joanna Warren, director of policy and advocacy at Educate Texas; and Carlos Villagrana, program officer at Houston Endowment, emphasized that no single program, funding stream, or policy can solve the challenge alone. Instead, participants suggested that success depends on connecting the many pieces of the educator pipeline—from recruiting future teachers to preparing, supporting, and retaining them once they enter the profession.

“There are all these different teaching candidates who aspire to be great teachers, but at times the system's working against them,” said Villagrana. “There are opportunities to build in more coherence and help provide opportunities so we can actually recruit more teachers, train them, get more of them certified, and hold onto them.”

Villagrana described the Foundation’s efforts to convene partners across the Houston region, where roughly 75,000 teachers work across dozens of districts, charter schools, educator preparation programs, and nonprofit organizations. Rather than funding individual projects, Houston Endowment seeks to create conditions for collaboration. 

Three years ago, the Foundation launched a community of practice centered on teacher workforce issues. What began amid skepticism about whether competing districts and organizations would work together has grown into a network of more than 100 participants who regularly share strategies, data, and lessons learned.

According to Villagrana, those relationships have helped break down traditional silos and positioned Houston as a region capable of responding collectively to statewide challenges. District leaders who once operated independently now exchange ideas and problem-solve together, creating a stronger foundation for implementing new teacher preparation and retention strategies.

‘Start with what you have’

While the community of practice is one local solution, the enormity of needs to build sustainable teacher pathways remains a challenge. To minimize the complexity and encourage the audience to take action, Villagrana likened the process to starting a campfire in the winter.

“When you start thinking about a fire, you want to start because you’ll be miserable all day long and probably at night as well. So start with what you have…maybe that’s enough,” he said.

Villagrana explained that districts could tap into existing assets—potentially paraprofessionals or high school students who aspire to become teachers—to explore building a grow your own or residency program. Once a district started the program, they could seek partners to build it out.

“It’s hard for you to do it alone—it’s impossible if you’re waiting for the perfect conditions to build this fire. You’ve got to get started right now if you want to make sure you have a fire for that lunch, dinner, and night,” he said. “And before you know it, you might even be helping somebody else build theirs. And I think that's what I would encourage y'all to think about. What can we lean into right now? And even if it's small, you're gonna learn so much from that small pilot.”