Shifting Dominant Narratives of Teacher Development: New Directions for Expanding Access to the Educator Workforce Through Grow Your Own Programs

Abstract

Grow Your Own (GYO) programs are designed to recruit high school students, paraeducators, community organizers and parents, and/or career changers from the local community to join the educator workforce. When considering the nontraditional teacher pools that may enter the profession through GYO programs, commonly held assumptions about who teachers are, how they are developed, and what is most important for supporting their growth are challenged. This article reframes conventional narratives in teacher education by exploring the ways in which GYO programs offer counternarratives that reimagine teacher development by valuing (a) intersectional views of ethnoracial diversity, (b) resilience as an important teacher characteristic, (c) multiple modes of assessment as evidence of teacher learning, (d) ethnoracially diverse and community-based teacher educators, (e) culturally responsive pedagogy and place-based learning, and (f) local community school commitment.

Exploring a Teacher Residency as a Recruitment and Retention Strategy for High-Need Districts

“…Although existing research helps to describe the need, theory, and purpose of residencies (Gist, 2021; Klein et al, 2013; Solomon, 2009), there lacks an understanding of how multiple stakeholders participate in the process. Namely, missing is how districts recruit and support residents as well as the residents’ experience within the TRP.…”

“…1.Unlike residencies, Grow Your Own programs target the recruitment and training of high school students, community members and parents, and paraeducators and school staff to eventually become full-time teachers in their community schools (Gist, 2019, 2021). …”

Are Homegrown Teachers Who Graduate From Urban Districts More Racially Diverse, More Effective, and Less Likely to Exit Teaching?

“…Grow Your Own (GYO) programs mark a related approach focused specifically on recruiting community members who may not have adequate opportunities to access the teaching profession (Gist, 2022; Gist et al, 2019). While the specific design of GYO programs is quite varied, Gist et al (2019) emphasize that a distinguishing feature of GYO programs is the use of integrated supports to help teaching candidates fulfill the requirements for entry into teaching.…”

“…Research on this topic is needed for two main reasons. First, renewed interest in the potential benefits of local teacher recruitment efforts and persistent shortages in hard–to–staff positions and schools have led an increasing number of districts to adopt local teacher preparation programs (Gist, 2022; Kaufman et al, 2020). Many of these programs are oriented around the recruitment of local teacher candidates, with some programs even designed to recruit high school students into teaching (Bianco et al, 2011; Noonoo, 2019; Simmons, 2018; Villagómez et al, 2016).…”

“…Given this study's focus on homegrown teachers who returned to teach in their home district, it is important to emphasize that the term homegrown teacher has been used to refer not only to district graduates but other prospective teacher pools (e.g., paraprofessionals, parents, and community activists; Gist, 2022; Gist et al, 2019; Irizarry, 2007). Thus, I emphasize that this study focuses specifically on homegrown teachers who graduated from district high schools.…”