The University of North Texas at Dallas recently launched The Emerging Teacher Institute in an effort to keep future teachers within the profession and equip them with skills to regulate their emotional health, according to The Dallas Morning News.

“Historically, schools of education haven’t directly taught about the basics of self-care. These are skills that have to be taught,” John Gasko, dean of the School of Education at UNT Dallas, told The News.

The institute received a $500,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that will go toward improving “cognitive development and teaching skills across faculty and students,” the hiring of a teaching director liaison between principals and student teachers, and a video feedback system.

The Momentous Institute and Mastermind will be lending their experience in mental health for integration into UNT Dallas’ curriculum for future teachers.

The university will work with local school districts to understand problems in the school environment. In the future, it plans to offer formal mindfulness training to teachers and principals.

“The long-term goal is to create a teacher that’s not only effective in their content, that knows how to create caring and trusting relationships with young people, but also to create a happy teacher —  somebody who is resilient, is persistent, remains curious despite the difficulties and churn of the classroom,” Gasko said.

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