On April 25, Teach Plus Texas and Teach Plus New Mexico will co-host educators, industry leaders, and community partners to chart student career pathways across the NM/TX border.
EL PASO, TX, April 20, 2026—Along the New Mexico–Texas border, more than half of students finish high school without a clear route to a career, or leave before finishing at all. On April 25, Teach Plus teacher leaders from both states will gather at Socorro ISD in El Paso to share what they’ve learned and plan together. The Student Success Summit, co-hosted by Teach Plus Texas and Teach Plus New Mexico, will bring educators, employers, and community partners into the same room to build one regional roadmap for getting students from graduation to a successful future.
“What makes the Student Success Summits effective is the mix of voices in the room: teachers with deep classroom experience, researchers, school leaders, and community partners examining the same evidence and building solutions together. That is how we strengthen college, career, and life opportunities for students across Texas. We are grateful to Superintendent Vasquez for hosting this regional partnership,” said Kevin Malonson, Executive Director of Teach Plus Texas.
“In New Mexico, talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not, especially in rural and border communities. Our poverty rate has stayed near 18 percent for decades, and that won’t shift until more students earn the credentials that lead to high-demand careers. This partnership is about making sure every student, on either side of the state line, has a clear path there,” said Hope Morales, Executive Director of Teach Plus New Mexico.
Teach Plus New Mexico brings the experience of its Economic Mobility Summits series, which is aligning education and workforce systems so students can build real careers and economic security. Teach Plus Texas brings new teacher-led research from classrooms in Dallas, Houston, and El Paso that focuses on strengthening career-connected learning for educators, sustaining the profession, and navigating AI and other emerging technologies. Attendees at the El Paso summit will focus on turning this work into a shared regional action plan for students on both sides of the state line.
“I am most excited to share research grounded in the voices of educators from across the state, bringing authentic, classroom-informed perspectives directly to stakeholders in pursuit of policy opportunities that will support teachers engaging in career-connected teaching and learning,” said Tevin King, El Paso school teacher and Teach Plus Texas Policy Fellow.
El Paso Summit Highlights Include:
- Keynote Address: Dr. Clifton Tanabe, Dean of the UTEP College of Education, will discuss strategies for preparing educators to lead career-connected learning.
- Industry Insider Panel: Experts will explore how educators can partner with regional businesses to guide students toward high-demand, local career paths.
- Policy Action Lab: Educators and industry partners will collaborate to translate classroom data into specific legislative recommendations for the upcoming Texas session.
Summit participants will collaborate on a number of priorities, including building the first regional frameworks for AI-driven learning in Texas and aligning New Mexico’s education and workforce systems to accelerate student economic mobility.
“As educators, we see firsthand that our students are ready for the future, but they need systems that are just as ready for them. I am proud to work alongside my Texas colleagues to use our classroom experiences to build the career-connected pathways that will allow our students to thrive in their own communities,” said Melanie Bussiere, a New Mexico teacher and Teach Plus New Mexico Policy Fellow focused on career and college readiness and economic mobility.
The El Paso summit is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided. All attendees must register in advance at https://sites.google.com/
Teach Plus
The mission of Teach Plus is to empower excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. Since 2009, Teach Plus has developed thousands of teacher leaders across the country to exercise their leadership in shaping education policy and improving teaching and learning for students. Teach Plus Texas and Teach Plus New Mexico
