Examining Grow Your Own Programs Across the Teacher Development Continuum: Mining Research on Teachers of Color and Nontraditional Educator Pipelines

Abstract

Grow Your Own (GYO) programs are cited in recent policy briefs as viable pathways for increasing the racial/ethnic diversity of teachers, yet recent scholarship on GYO programs is minimal. To address this issue, this article investigates what we know, and do not know, about GYO programs, by examining a range of data sources on different types of GYO program teacher pools (e.g., middle/high school, paraprofessional, community activists/parents mentors) and making sense of findings over a continuum of teacher development (e.g., recruitment, preparation, induction, and retention). Based on a research synthesis within and across GYO program teacher pools, we argue implications for policy, practice, and research that should accompany increased recommendations for expanding GYO models for Teachers of Color.