TAMIU IS ONE OF SIX U.S. MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS SELECTED FOR BRANCHED’S NATIONAL TEACHER PREPARATION TRANSFORMATION CENTER
Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) is one of six educator preparation programs at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) across the U.S. selected to participate in the Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity’s (BranchED) National Teacher Preparation Transformation Center, providing an immersion process aimed at producing highly effective and diverse teachers.
BranchED’s president and CEO Dr. Cassandra Herring, said TAMIU’s selection enables its participation in the Transformation Center, a three-year innovative experience and program.
“Through participation in the Transformation Center these colleges and universities join a unique community of practice where each institution’s faculty and their respective school district partners can access enhanced resources and professional development, network with others, share data and learn from each other to move forward with sustainability and innovation. The larger goals of BranchED’s Transformation Center include both diversifying the teaching profession and intentionally addressing critical issues of educational equity for all students,” Dr. Herring explained.
“No other entity in the country takes the approach to diversifying the nation’s educator workforce the way BranchED does. Our approach is ‘grassroots’ in that we work directly with the MSI educator preparation providers to draft and implement an individualized plan for systemic and sustainable improvement with the goal of ensuring program graduates are competent and confident in their ability to teach all students – particularly students of color and those from low-socioeconomic backgrounds,” Herring added.
TAMIU president Dr. Pablo Arenaz said the University’s national selection underscores the quality of its educator preparation program and its dedication to continued excellence and transformation.
“Our teaching, research and service as a Hispanic Serving Institution has a robust 50+ plus year legacy. Our College of Education prepares the majority of educators within a 150-mile radius of Laredo. We’re very proud of our students, our graduates and our programs and the measurable contributions they make in classrooms everywhere. Our selection as a BranchED National Teacher Preparation Transformation Center member provides a dynamic opportunity to grow our teaching mission and our passion, and we are eager to do so,” said Dr. Arenaz.
TAMIU College of Education dean Dr. James O’Meara said the University has already established measures for the success of its transformation.
“We will measure the success of our transformation against the following four outcomes: the quality of integrated student support provided to our candidates; the volume of expanded and enriched learning time beyond the traditional curriculum; the frequency of family and community engagement, and the impact of collaborative leadership and practices,” Dr. O’Meara said.
TAMIU's Quality approach is to recruit, educate, train, and support teachers that meet or exceed the needs and expectations of the state and local school districts. In order to do this, we have implemented quality systems and processes that are continually being improved to satisfy the changing needs of our state and region
At TAMIU, we strive for and demonstrate excellence in the field of education. TAMIU has been providing high-quality educator preparation programs to laredo and surrounding areas for many years and will continue to carry on. We are committed to the continuous improvement of our educator preparation programs using the latest research and data, producing the best PreK-12 teachers to educate the children of Texas. Our commitment to quality permeates all facets of how we educate and prepare future Texas teachers.
Objective A
TAMIU builds teacher candidate competency to meet the needs of Lation and low-income students.
Objective B
TAMIU demonstrates commitment to using the latest data for continuous improvement.
Objective C
TAMIU ensures teacher educators are effective.
Objective D
TAMIU is responsive to K-12 school systems and the communities they serve.
For more about the Series, contact Dr. O’Meara at james.omeara@tamiu.edu Information on College of Education programs and resources is available at tamiu.edu/coedu