 PREP Program Allotment Newsletter
Upcoming Events
PREP Office Hours
Join us for our first PREP Office Hours session! This session is open to anyone involved with the PREP Program Allotment. It will include breakout rooms for each of the three PREP Programs (GYO, Residency, and Mentorship) along with a breakout room dedicated to the PREP Allotment Planning Tool. Attendees can come and go as they please and attend as many breakout rooms as they’d like.
Wednesday, April 8th, 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Registration Link
Download and explore the PREP Allotment Planning Tool (available early April)
The PREP Allotment Planning Tool will be posted on the TEA PREP webpage in early April. This Excel-based tool helps your district model estimated allotment amounts for each PREP program. Enter your participant numbers in the tool to estimate initial and success-based funding. Share with your Superintendent, CFO, and business office so they can begin Year 1 financial planning.
Important: The Planning Tool provides planning estimates only. Actual allotments are calculated from data your district submits through ECOS.
Watch the PREP Allotment Planning Tool Walkthrough Webinar (available early April)
A pre-recorded walkthrough of the PREP Allotment Planning Tool will be posted on the TEA PREP webpage in early April. The webinar walks through all three PREP program tabs (GYO, Residency, Mentorship) using a sample district scenario, so your team can see exactly how to enter data and interpret the results. Watch on your own schedule, pause and rewind as needed, and share with colleagues.
Who should watch: Superintendents, CFOs, business office staff, PREP coordinators, and anyone responsible for PREP financial planning in your district.
Start preparing for the VoP form (preview April 13th, submission window May 1st - 31st)
The Verification of Participation (VoP) form preview will be posted on April 13. The VoP confirms which PREP programs your district will participate in and provides estimated participant counts for school year 2026-27. Your superintendent must sign the VoP, so begin conversations now about which programs your district plans to implement and how many participants you expect.
Tip: Use the PREP Allotment Planning Tool to model funding scenarios before your VoP conversation with leadership. This helps your team make informed decisions about participation levels.
Connected Programs
TEXAS STRATEGIC STAFFING (TSS) FOR RESIDENCY GRANT
How TSS for Residency Grant Connects to PREP Residency
If your district participates in the Texas Strategic Staffing (TSS) for Residency Grant Program, you already have experience redesigning school staffing models to support teacher residents. TSS districts have been building the infrastructure that PREP Residency now funds at scale: identifying high-impact placement campuses, training host teachers, creating schedules that give residents meaningful clinical time, and partnering with Educator Preparation Programs.
PREP Residency builds on this foundation. The staffing models your TSS team developed can directly inform how you place and support PREP residents, and the work TSS you design can help you expand and sustain the allotment funding through PREP. Districts implementing both programs are well-positioned to create strong, lasting residency experiences.
Your ESC Strategic Staffing Fellow remains a resource for TSS for Residency Grant implementation support. If you have questions about how TSS and PREP Residency connect, bring them to PREP Office Hours or reach out to your regional ESC. Visit the TSS for Residency website for more information.
TEXAS MENTORSHIP TRAINING (TMT)
What PREP Mentorship Districts Need to Know About TMT
If your district is implementing PREP Mentorship, your mentor teachers must complete Texas Mentorship Training (TMT) before the school year begins. TMT is delivered through TMT approved providers, including each of the twenty Education Service Center[SB1] [FA2] . Every ESC across the state has a dedicated TMT Fellow to support your district.
TMT is also relevant for PREP Residency districts. Host teachers who supervise teacher residents are encouraged to complete TMT beginning in school year 2026-27, and this training will be required starting in school year 2027-28. Early participation gives your host teachers a head start on the skills they will need to support residents effectively.
Contact your regional ESC TMT Fellow to learn about upcoming training sessions and how to enroll your mentors and host teachers. TMT website
SPOTLIGHT: The PREP Allotment Planning Tool
The PREP Allotment Planning Tool is a downloadable Excel workbook designed to help districts model estimated PREP funding. Here is what to expect when you open it.
What the tool covers: The Planning Tool has separate tabs for each PREP program, presented in pipeline order: Grow Your Own, Residency, and Mentorship. Each tab uses color-coded columns to distinguish between fields you fill in and fields the tool estimates automatically. You enter your district's participant numbers and the tool estimates your allotment based on the statutory funding formulas.
How to use it: Start by selecting your school system from the dropdown, which sets your high-needs factor (note: the tool estimates the high-needs factor at the district level, TEA’s funding calculations use the student-average point value at the campus-level when determining your actual allotment). Then enter participant counts for each program you plan to implement. The tool shows both initial funding (received in the first year) and projected success-based funding (received after participants meet program completion milestones). A summary tab brings all three programs together so you can see your total estimated allotment and district costs.
What it does not do: The Planning Tool is for planning purposes only. It does not determine your actual allotment, which will be calculated from data your district submits through ECOS in summer 2026. The tool does not replace the Verification of Participation or any other required submissions. Think of it as a modeling resource to support your district's budget conversations and implementation planning.
Mark Your Calendar
Key dates for the next 60 days. Share with your team and mark calendars now. Note: these dates are subject to change.
Early April: PREP Allotment Planning Tool and walkthrough webinar posted on TEA PREP webpage. Share with CFOs, business offices, PREP coordinators, and superintendents.
April 13: Preview of Verification of Participation form posted on TEA website. Share with superintendents, HR/PREP coordinators, and CFOs.
April 20: PREP Guidebook published on TEA PREP webpage. Share with all district and EPP staff involved in PREP.
May 1 to 31: Verification of Participation submission window open. Superintendents and PREP coordinators submit to confirm participation and estimated counts.
May 2026: Commissioner of Education rules effective for all PREP Programs.
In Case You Missed It
From Issue #1: PREP Program Overview
If you missed our first issue, it included an overview of all three PREP programs (Grow Your Own, Residency, and Mentorship), including funding ranges, key requirements, and how each program fits into the teacher pipeline. If you have new team members joining PREP implementation, Issue #1 is a good starting point.
March 13th, 2026 PREP Newsletter
If you need to access information or resources about the PREP Program Allotment, visit the PREP Program Allotment web page or submit a question through the PREP Program Allotment Support Portal link below.
PREP Program Allotment Support Portal
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