Teaching Excellence

Review the TE Candidate Guide for information on admissions, programming, and path to certification information.

TE Candidate Guide

SUMMER COHORT 2026

WINTER COHORT 2026

If your undergraduate or graduate degree was earned at an institution of higher education outside of the United States, including territories of the United States, you need to complete the following steps.

1. In order to evaluate credentials from outside the United States for Formal Admission criteria, it must be determined that the credential is, at a minimum, equivalent to a baccalaureate degree issued by an accredited institution of higher education in the United States. Click here for a list of approved credential review services.
2. Evidence must be provided that the primary language of instruction was English;

OR

Verification of satisfactory scores on the English language proficiency examination (TOEFL). Click here to register for this exam.

Satisfactory Scores are as follows:

• Speaking: 20-24
• Listening: 17-21
• Reading: 18-23
• Writing: 17-23

Note: An applicant is allowed to retake the TOEFL to cumulatively achieve the required minimum scores on all sections

The Teaching Excellence program is comprised of three main components: Instructional Coaching, Learning and Development, and Certification and Compliance.

Teaching Excellence organizes its program around four areas that serve as the foundational elements of an effective instructional leader.  The following elements guide the framework for preparing and developing teachers:

Teacher Effectiveness & Student Achievement

Our core purpose is to accelerate teacher effectiveness.  We believe exceptional coaching and professional development are the catalysts for this accelerated growth.  Teaching Excellence's Instructional Coaches partner with system-wide staff and campus Instructional Leaders to align feedback and support.  It is this aligned feedback that drives teachers to implement best practices, which results in student achievement. 

Classroom Culture

We believe that a strong classroom culture is dependent on a strong behavior management system, consistent routines and procedures, and building transformative relationships with students and families.

Instructional Planning & Delivery

We develop teachers to utilize research-based planning and instructional methods, ensuring students are being exposed to and mastering content in the most effective way possible. 

Data Driven Instruction

Instructional Coaches partner with teachers to assess their effectiveness based on how students are performing in their classrooms.  By taking a data-driven approach, we ensure that teachers are aware of students' needs and adjusting their instruction accordingly. 

Teacher Leadership

Instructional Coaches assist teachers in building the skills needed to be a leader both inside and outside the classroom.  We encourage teachers to advocate for themselves and their students.  Over the course of the year, Instructional Coaches aid teachers in becoming reflective practitioners who propel their own growth in the classroom.

Teaching Excellence organizes its program around five core development experiences. These experiences serve as the vehicle for learning the foundational elements of effective teaching:

Induction

Induction is the foundation of teacher learning and development. This experience takes place in the summer and lasts 3 weeks.  The goal of Induction is for teachers to be prepared to set up a strong classroom culture, establish routines and procedures, and begin the work of planning and internalizing aligned lessons.

Teacher Development Saturdays

An immense amount of learning must take place to become an effective teacher.  While Induction lays the foundation, this learning must continue over the course of the year.  Teachers participate in Teacher Development Saturdays (TDS) once a quarter, to continue developing their knowledge and skills around instructional best practices.  These experiences provide opportunities not only for teachers to become aware of best practices but actually implement these practices in their work.

Professional Learning Modules

Online Professional Learning Modules (PLMs) provide teachers with exposure to a wide-range of topics.  These experiences are self-guided and may include reading and reflecting on an article, implementing high impact strategies into an upcoming lesson, or doing a case study on a student or group of students.  PLMs do not follow a particular sequence, so teachers are able to choose experiences that match their current stage of development in the classroom.

Instructional Coaching 

Instructional coaching is the cornerstone of the Teaching Excellence Program.  Each Teaching Excellence Instructional Coach works with a cohort of about 17 teachers. The relatively small size of cohorts allows for frequent and regular touch points throughout the year.  Through observations and debriefs and a variety of other methods, Instructional Coaches provide individualized support that is tailored to the specific needs of their teachers.

Certification

The core development experiences listed above serve two purposes:  First, they provide multiple avenues for novice teachers to master the foundational elements of teaching. Second, with formal admission, each contributes to the requirements necessary to obtain a standard teaching certificate in the State of Texas.  The certification team of the Teaching Excellence Program provides certification candidates with guidance around timelines, test preparation, and costs associated with certification.  Additionally, individualized updates are provided throughout the year to inform candidates of their progress towards obtaining a Texas Standard Certificate. 

The expected timeline for teachers to attain certification is available on the YES Prep Certification Sharepoint.

TE issues initial certificates on the first day of each semester with students in attendance in August and January.

• Summer Cohort Induction: July 8 - July 29, 2026
• Presentation of Learning: July 29, 2026
• Winter Cohort Induction Dates:
  • September 23, 2026; October 8, 2026; October 21, 2026; November 4, 2026; December 15, 2026
• Teacher Development Saturdays:
  • September 26, 2026; November 7, 2026; January 9, 2027; February 20, 2027.

TE External portal

The cost of Teaching Excellence is $4,999 through ongoing payroll deductions beginning in August 2026 for Summer Induction and September 2026 for Winter Cohort. In addition, teachers should be prepared to pay for certification exam fees ($116 per exam with 2-4 exams needed) and their certification applications to the state ($160). If a teacher misses multiple windows of certificate eligibility, they incur continued support costs of $1,500 for the extended period of coaching and support.

The overall cost of TE is offset for teachers in the following ways: Teachers earn $125/day of training pay for attendance at Summer Induction, and teachers who earn certification on-time based on their cohort timeline are eligible for stipends totaling up to $1500.

Considering the possibility of stipends and incentives, the overall net cost of certification through TE including exams and stipends for certain teachers who qualify is around $2,000, while for other teachers who take longer in the program and incur Continued Support Cost the overall cost is  closer to $6,500.

According to TAC 19 Section 228.35(1)(5)(A), each educator preparation program is required to develop and implement specific criteria and procedures that allow:

(a) Military service members or military veteran candidates to credit verified military service, training, or education toward the training, education, work experience or related requirements (other than certification examinations) for educator certification requirements, provided that the military service, training, or education is directly related to the certificate being sought.

To have military service evaluated for this purpose, TE will review a AARTS (Army ACE Registry Transcript), CCAF (Community College of the Air Force Transcript) or SMART (Sailor/Marine ACE Registry Transcript) which veterans may request here: https://jst.doded.mil/jst/  

At Teaching Excellence we want to ensure you know your rights. Below are  resources that are available to you.

Transfer Process from another Educator Preparation Program

You have the right to request a transfer from one Educator Preparation Program into another. For more information on the transfer process, please see here.

Formal Complaints Process

TE's process for filing a formal complaint is outlined below and should be followed before filing an official complaint with the TEA.
 

TEA GRIEVANCES PAGE

TEACHING EXCELLENCE COMPLAINT INFORMATION

Did you know that alternative teacher certification programs were initiated in the state of Texas in response to teacher shortages? Teaching Excellence has additional information about supply and demand on the educator workforce in Texas below.

Information Concerning Criminal Background Check

Under Texas law, teachers in public schools and applicants for a Texas educator certificate must undergo a criminal history background check prior to employment as an educator. An individual who has been convicted of an offense may be ineligible for issuance of a certificate upon completion of the Educator Preparation Program.

Disciplinary Information

YES Prep employees and all educators in Texas Public Schools are accountable to the Educators’ Code of Ethics and may wish to review the state’s Disciplinary Rules and Guidelines.

Fingerprinting for Certificate Applicants

The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) requires all applicants to submit fingerprints for a national criminal history background check. The fingerprinting record is also tied to a candidate’s payment for certification through the Educator Certification Online System (ECOS). At the time applicants apply for a certificate in ECOS, they will be prompted to link existing fingerprints to their information on file with TEA in ECOS. More information regarding the requirement for a certificate applicant to submit fingerprints can be found here.

Required Social Security Number

Candidates are required to have a valid Social Security Number (SSN) to be fingerprinted for the issuance of a certificate. The fingerprinting process cannot be completed without a valid Social Security number, and an application for teacher certification cannot be processed without fingerprinting. More information regarding the SSN requirements can be found here.

• How to request a temporary number to establish a TEAL/certification account
• How to update my Social Security number on my teacher certification record

A person has the right to request a “Preliminary Criminal History Evaluation” from TEA regarding  potential ineligibility for certification due to a conviction or deferred adjudication for a felony or misdemeanor offense. Rules related to eligibility in relation to criminal offenses are prescribed in 19 TAC §249.16.

Sources: Texas Occupations Code Chapter 53, Texas Education Code Chapter 22.0831 and 22.0835 and 19 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 227, Subchapter B