On Saturday April 25, 2026, we convened educators, students, and community partners from across the Texas–New Mexico Borderplex region. From the conversations across the day, one idea remains clear: the path to student economic mobility requires a fundamental shift in how we approach education.
If we want students to graduate with real opportunities—not just credentials—we must be more intentional about how we invest in and position educators within the system.
This weekend, we teamed up with Teach Plus New Mexico to bring together educators, students, and community partners from across the Texas–New Mexico Borderplex region for the Student Success Summit.
From the conversations in El Paso, three priorities emerged:
We must invest more intentionally in teacher leadership.
Educators are closest to students and communities, and when we expand their role, we strengthen the system itself.
We must expand partnerships with business and workforce leaders.
Students need clearer, earlier connections to real-world pathways, and those pathways only become visible when education and industry are aligned.
We must ensure border region voices are included in the decisions shaping education policy.
The perspectives of educators and communities in regions like El Paso and Las Cruces are essential to building solutions that are both relevant and sustainable.
When these elements come together, educators begin to operate as cross-sector navigators — leaders who understand workforce trends, build connections across systems, and help bridge the gap between classrooms and careers.
So the question is not whether the pathway exists.
It’s whether we are willing to build it intentionally.
Grateful to everyone who contributed to these conversations in El Paso, and looking forward to continuing this work in Houston on May 16.
Warmest regards,
Kevin Malonson
Executive Director, Teach Plus Texas
Please direct your inquiries about this event to Dr. Hjamil Martínez-Vázquez, Policy Program Manager at hmvazquez@teachplus.org
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