The PESB “Grow Your Own” infrastructure pilot grant group defines Grow Your Own (GYO) as programs that are highly collaborative, community-rooted, and provide intensive supports including recruiting, developing, placing, and retaining diverse educators. GYO programs also dismantle institutional racism, work towards educational equity, and improve academic outcomes for all students. (Adapted from GYOC, a national group.)
PESB’s goal is to support the efforts of districts, Educational Service Districts, and educator preparation programs with increasing the availability of qualified educators in districts’ need areas who also reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the student population. PESB knows that there are many different strategies districts and educator preparation programs can take to grow their own educators, so it has provided the following resources, innovative efforts, and programs to support those efforts.
Resources
- Grow Your Own teachers “bright spots” report is a broad overview of the opportunities and successes of GYO efforts in districts across Washington State.
- Grow Your Own resources is a listing of tools, best practice research, and other resources that will assist any district or preparation program with starting a GYO program.
- Recruitment report was commissioned by PESB and provides strategies for programs to recruit more diverse candidates and includes a college self-assessment tool and a state-wide demographics report.
Programs
- Alternative routes to teacher certification are designed for career changers and for individuals already working in the school system who want to transition to full-time teaching. Approved programs can apply for related grants to provide funding for Alternative Route preparation programs, districts, and candidate scholarships engaging GYO teacher strategies to address district need.
- Pipeline for paraeducators conditional loan scholarship program (Parapipeline Program) provides financial support to classified instructional staff, with at least three years of classroom experience, to pursue their Associate of Arts (AA) degree.
- Recruiting Washington Teachers (RWT) program is a collection of curriculum and resources for high school teacher academies with the overarching goal to “grow our own” diverse group of future teachers.
Innovative efforts
- “Grow Your Own” infrastructure pilot grant is a privately funded Gates Foundation effort that supports seven districts in the Roadmap region to build an educator workforce that is representative of the district student population they serve and develop individuals to teach in the district’s identified high need subject areas.
