Texas Wesleyan University Awarded $1.79 Million By Moody & Andrews Foundations to Establish New Center for Educator Excellence

Innovative initiative to strengthen North Texas teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention

FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas Wesleyan University’s School of Education has been awarded two significant grants from the Moody Foundation and the Paul E. Andrews, Jr. Foundation totaling $1,790,082 to address the statewide teacher pipeline crisis. With this generous support, the university has launched the Texas Wesleyan University Center for Educator Excellence, an innovative, research-informed initiative designed to strengthen 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. Our university is honored to lead this transformational work for North Texas and beyond,” said Dr. Emily Messer, university president.

The Texas Wesleyan University Center for Educator Excellence (Center) is a strategic priority for Texas Wesleyan and reflects the university’s long-standing commitment to innovation in teacher education. Over the next several years, this Center will continue expanding its research, community partnerships, and professional development offerings, contributing to lasting improvements across the North Texas educator workforce.

Due to decades of Texas Wesleyan University’s recognition for its leadership in teacher preparation, both Moody and Paul E. Andrews, Jr. Foundation view the university as an innovator in highly effective teacher preparation. The launch of the Center marks the next chapter in the university’s legacy by continuing to serve as a statewide leader in cultivating and sustaining exceptional educators dedicated to transforming student outcomes.

The Center represents a comprehensive, multi-phase effort to support a diverse range of current and future educators from high school students exploring teaching careers to veteran teachers and district leaders serving in K–12 systems. Grounded in research-supported pathways and best practices, the Center provides targeted recruitment, outreach, professional development, and wraparound support aimed at improving teacher quality and reducing attrition across North Texas. By introducing a scalable and sustainable model, the initiative seeks to directly address workforce shortages and improve long-term educator success.
The Center focuses on 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. In addition, the Center offers cohort-based leadership and professional development programming for local teachers, school administrators, and district executives.
With post-pandemic challenges, recruiting future teachers has become a hardship for school districts across the state and nation. The Center has been identifying gaps between traditional college recruitment strategies and the specialized outreach needed for prospective educators. The center will also serve as central hub for all recruitment, engagement, and outreach activities to establish a seamless pipeline for current high schools actively involved in teacher career programs.

“These grants represent a powerful investment in the future of education,” said Dr. Carlos Martinez, Dean of the School of Education at Texas Wesleyan University. “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. Strong schools build strong communities, and we know that teachers are the key to success. This new initiative, made possible through collaboration, not only allows us to recruit, educate, and support educators across DFW, but to also invest in our neighborhood schools and districts. We are deeply grateful to both the Moody Foundation and the Paul E. Andrews, Jr. Foundation for helping us make this vision a reality.”