About the Grow Your Own Initiative

In support of state goals, the EAC supports local and regional partnerships implementing Grow Your Own programs. These partnerships are designed with the whole school system in mind to address conditions affecting the recruitment and retention of educators across the career continuum. The GYO initiative aims to support the development of partnerships which:

• Identify and determine areas of need based on local and/or regional school communities, and share data in order to coordinate culturally responsive educator preparation, development, and advancement efforts.

• Assess internal institutional structures and identify barriers that may impede efforts to achieve a diverse, high quality pool of educator professionals.

• Co-create with partners to build affordable, regional career pathways into education, which provide multiple options for nontraditional postsecondary students to access.

• Support the continuation of learning for novice educators through high quality induction and mentorship programs focused on culturally responsive curricula, instruction practices, and learning environments that support every student to be successful.

2023-2025 Grantee Selection

The application window for the 2023-2025 GYO Grant is currently closed.

Since 2021, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), has issued a Request for Grant Applications (RFA) with the Educator Advancement Council to invest funds in Grow Your Own Educator partnerships across Oregon. Through the competitive grant process, twenty-seven GYO programs were awarded in 2021-2023 and twenty-nine GYO programs awarded in 2023-2025.

The current grant period began in the spring of 2023 with a new RFA. ODE received and evaluated 45 responsive grant applications that met the requirements to move into the Evaluation Process. All responsive Applications were reviewed and evaluated by a team of qualified peer reviewers using the scoring criteria outlined in the RFA. Due to the significantly higher number of applications than received in 2020 and the current GYO Initiative budget, not all proposed projects were selected for this grant cycle. For more information about the current grant programs please see the links below.

History and Purpose

The EAC funds multiple initiatives toward the goal of having a diverse, high quality, culturally responsive Educator workforce across the State (reference ORS 342.940 and ORS 327.254). Local or regional GYO partnerships are one strategy through which Educator candidates, in particular racially, ethnically, or linguistically diverse Educator candidates, are encouraged and supported to become Educators in their communities and advance in their careers. 

The Student Success Act (HB 3427, 2019) directed state education agencies to develop a plan of support for Oregon’s professional educators by increasing efforts in educator retention, educator diversity, mentoring and coaching of educators, participation in educator preparation programs, and educator scholarships. The plan, approved by Legislature in January 2020, identified Grow Your Own programs as a model for retaining and fostering the talent and strengths of local potential educators, including early learning and care educators. 

Contact: Dr. Lynne Gardner at Lynne.Gardner@ode.oregon.gov