RICHMOND - Today the Virginia Department of
Education awarded its second round of Grow Your Own Grants totaling $1.52
million to 24 school divisions to assist in creating registered teacher
apprenticeship programs to help recruit and train well-prepared future teachers
within their communities. A focused approach to helping school divisions
deal with teacher recruitment challenges, Grow Your Own programs help future
teachers work towards their bachelor’s degrees and fulfill all licensure requirements,
so that upon completion of the program participants will be ready to accept a
full-time teaching position in their communities.
The VDOE has partnered with the National Center for
Grow Your Own to become a national leader in helping develop effective
registered apprenticeship programs to assist school divisions in recruiting
teacher candidates from their local communities. Under this model, aspiring
Virginia teacher candidates can include paraprofessionals and other staff
already working in the schools, dual-enrolled graduating high school seniors,
or career switchers with an interest in classroom teaching. Twenty-eight
Virginia school divisions have launched Grow Your Own registered teacher
apprenticeship programs during the 2023-2024 school year.
