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Tyler ISD outlines 'Evergreen ETX' initiative, seeks higher‑ed partners for lab schools and teacher pipelines
Summary
Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Bobby Markle described Evergreen ETX — a package of initiatives including 'Grow Your Own' teacher pipelines, lab schools, and 18/82 higher‑education partnerships — and said the district expects to present a vetted partner for 2026–27 in January.
Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Bobby Markle presented the board with a detailed update on 'Evergreen ETX,' a set of initiatives designed to strengthen teacher pipelines and targeted school models ahead of the 2026–27 school year.
Markle described three primary strands: 1) an 'Grow Your Own' strategy to recruit and prepare future educators beginning in K–12 through dual-credit pathways and paraprofessional-to-certification tracks; 2) a set of systems-of-excellence and lab-school models to accelerate improvement at targeted campuses; and 3) 18/82 partnerships with higher‑education institutions to operate clinical lab schools, K–2 literacy lab schools and biomedical/CTC partner schools. He said the district has a letter of intent from a higher‑education partner and expects to present a recommended partner after a local vetting and interview process in January.
"The goal of this 'Grow Your Own' has multiple inputs to get to one output, having the best teaching staff in this area for Tyler ISD students," Markle said, explaining that the district is exploring paid residencies, stipends and contractual return-service commitments to incentivize candidates to remain in the district. He noted that the district has observed successful models in Denton ISD, Houston ISD (NES), UTSA's bilingual programs and other jurisdictions that Tyler ISD staff visited as part of planning.
On funding, staff described LASO (Learning Acceleration Support Opportunities) and ADDSI (additional day school year) as state-managed TEA funding streams and said some federal DOE dollars are routed through the state. Cassandra Chapa was named as a district lead coordinating grant applications; staff said the Call for Quality Schools and grant deadlines were imminent.
Board members pressed on bilingual teacher shortages and the timeline for implementation. Markle acknowledged capacity constraints and said the district will prioritize resource‑designation schools for year‑one and pursue soft implementation steps elsewhere, contingent on higher‑education partner capacity: "It is really going to depend upon our higher ed partner and what their capacity is," he said. He also flagged that a UT Tyler dean search could affect partner timelines.
Administration said it will return with a recommended partner and formal applications for any state funding. The calendar first reading and other items continued in the meeting; trustees did not take a vote on Evergreen ETX during this session.
