Path to success: Teacher Pipeline program addresses NM’s educator vacancies through collaboration

Throughout the years, New Mexico has struggled with the number of educator vacancies, especially shortly after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 

Teacher Pipeline, a new program in the School of Teacher Preparation, Administration and Leadership is addressing the problem head on by partnering with a number of school districts, including the Las Cruces Public Schools, to recruit teachers.

In 2021, a study by New Mexico State University’s Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation & Policy Center found there were 1,727 educator vacancies in New Mexico, with 1,048 of those for teachers. A new study by the center in 2022 found that the total of educator vacancies had decreased to 1,344 vacancies with 690 of those for teachers.

The areas with the highest needs for teachers are special education and elementary education, and the subjects with the largest needs continue to be math, science and English language arts.

“Teacher Pipeline is one of NMSU’s newest research and public service projects designed to help the School of TPAL systematically and significantly reduce the number of educator vacancies throughout the state through innovative stakeholder collaborations,” says Rick Marlatt, director of the School of TPAL. “Teacher Pipeline initiatives collectively target impacts in the recruitment of teacher candidates, especially from historically underrepresented populations, to fill high-needs classrooms in southern New Mexico and throughout the state; culturally and linguistically sustaining educator preparation programming which directly addresses the greatest needs and priorities of partnering school districts and communities; and the purposeful retention of highly qualified educators in collaboration with our district, state, and regional leaders.”

Marlatt says that in recent years, TPAL’s Teacher Education Program has enjoyed numerous successes in addressing New Mexico's teacher shortage, achieving enrollment increases during the pandemic and sustaining an overall enrollment jump since 2019. Teacher Pipeline provides supportive resources to leverage these advances toward sustained expansion and growth, including new opportunities for teacher candidates to sharpen their pedagogical skills at NMSU before entering New Mexico's classrooms.  

An example of one these opportunities took place in spring 2023, when the School of TPAL partnered with LCPS’s Elementary English Language Arts content specialists to prepare teacher candidates for excellence in reading instruction.

“Our Teacher Education Program is committed to providing teacher candidates with research-based best practices which not only align with the state's curricular priorities and preferred instructional models, but also afford students the chance to learn from and work directly with district leadership teams on applying theory to practice,” Marlatt says.

He says opportunities such as the spring event provides teacher candidates with the chance, before they graduate, to make concrete professional connections.

“We constantly work to align educator preparation at NMSU with the rigorous benchmarks of our state and aptly respond to the strengths of students, school districts and communities we serve,” Marlatt says. “Few endeavors are as important to our Teacher Education Program as is the teaching of reading; we are fortunate to call LCPS a partner in this effort, and we are grateful to have such robust support from our great state and institution.”

TPAL saw a 48% increase in enrollment between 2019 through 2021, with 140 total admittances in 2022 marking a 14% gain from the previous year. Spring 2023 yielded 56 new applications, the school’s highest mark in at least the last five years.

“Teacher Pipeline resources are allowing us to maintain this positive momentum, and more importantly, we are ensuring that our teacher candidates have the instructional tools they need in order to succeed in high-needs areas, as well as the dispositions and cultural competencies necessary to impact the lives of students for many years to come,” Marlatt says.

Esther Peterson, LCPS associate director of teaching and learning for language arts K-12, says the district’s educators are excited for the opportunities to collaborate with NMSU and TPAL to best prepare teacher candidates.

“Our literacy team has the knowledge and expertise to provide a comprehensive introduction to the “what, why and how” of structured literacy,” Peterson says. “Learning sessions align with our goal of supporting teachers in the consistent implementation of effective evidence-based teaching practices. Participants were engaged and made great connections with the work they are already doing with students. We look forward to continuing this professional relationship which will benefit not only our NMSU and LCPS students, but our community as well.”