Friday, April 25, 2025 | Tarleton State University – Fort Worth
Figure 1 and 2: Tarrant County Future Educator Students. Photo credits: David Ellis, Crowley ISD
Rev Partnership hosted a signing day ceremony for 250 Tarrant County Future Educator (TCFE) students who are on the path to becoming future teachers. Students from Arlington, Azle, Castleberry, Crowley, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Everman, Fort Worth, Lake Worth, Mansfield, and Northwest Independent School Districts marked their dedication to the teaching profession, celebrating their first major step toward the classroom.
The TCFE initiative is a regional grow-your-own program that retains teacher talent through guaranteed enrollment and employment in our region. TCFE helps students persist in the education pathway from high school to career thanks to the shared commitments from 12 ISDs and Tarleton State University. Participating ISDs have committed to providing contingency employment offers to students who graduate from the Education and Training CTE pathway, and participating IHEs will accept up to nine dual credit hours for education classes, solving the barriers most frequently cited to becoming a teacher – the time and cost to obtain a teaching degree and enter the workforce.
“There is something incredibly moving about watching young people choose to become educators — to dedicate their futures to shaping lives,” said Dr. Rachael Capua, Vice President for External Operations and Dean of Tarleton State Fort Worth. “At Tarleton State, we believe in the power of teaching to change the world. It’s more than a career — it’s a legacy of impact, and we’re proud to walk alongside these scholars as they begin that journey.”
This investment in our educator pipeline comes at a critical time. Across the state of Texas, the number of uncertified teachers continues to climb. Between 2022-2023, the percentage of newly hired uncertified teachers tripled in Secondary STEM from 10 percent to 31 percent; tripled in elementary from 10 percent to 31 percent; and doubled in CTE. When students have an uncertified teacher compared to a standard university certified teacher, students lose up to six months of learning in English and nearly four months of learning in high school math. Students learn more in every subgroup, subject, and grade level when their teacher comes from traditional, standard university programs compared to when their teacher comes from alternative certification programs.
In response to the need for certified teachers, Rev Partnership, Tarrant County’s higher education institutions, and ISDs collaborated to create clear, supportive pathways for future teachers through the TCFE initiative. Through this partnership, students can graduate high school with the college credits necessary for their education degrees and gain early access to employment interviews with public school systems across the region.
Rev Partnership’s TCFE signing day celebration is not only an important milestone for the students involved - it's also a symbol of our region's commitment to investing in the future of education.
"We are creating the teacher talent pipeline that Tarrant County needs," said Dr. Elizabeth R. Brands, Board Chair, Rev Partnership. “With these young men and women being the future teachers of Tarrant County, our region's future is bright.”
