ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today announced that 13 local school systems will receive $19 million in expanded Grow Your Own Educators Grant Program awards to create stronger pathways for non-licensed school staff to become full-time teachers. The grant funding will support local school systems in their work to recruit and prepare school employees in their communities to become licensed teachers while they continue working. The program builds on the administration’s work that has already helped reduce teacher vacancies by nearly 50 percent since the beginning of the administration.
“The Grow Your Own program is the vital mechanism for addressing our teacher shortage by recognizing and licensing the professionals already within our school system,” said Gov. Moore. “This strategic pipeline investment is the foundation for a diverse and world-class educator workforce, ensuring our students benefit from the mentorship and quality support they deserve.”
The programs will support more than 620 educators across 13 local school systems representing all regions of the state. The largest grants will be awarded to Montgomery County Public Schools ($6 million) and a consortium of seven Eastern Shore districts ($4.6 million). Montgomery will use the grant funds to provide licensure pathways for more than 160 paraprofessionals, conditionally-licensed teachers, and apprentices. Other recipients include public school systems in Prince George’s ($3 million), Charles ($2 million), Washington ($1.8 million), Worcester ($985,540), and Frederick ($855,646) counties.
“These grants allow for investment in the dedicated professionals already in our classrooms and school buildings—our paraprofessionals and conditionally licensed teachers—and provide them with a clear, debt-free path to licensure,” said State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carey M. Wright. “We aren’t just filling seats. We are building a diverse, highly qualified workforce that reflects our students and ensures every child has access to a world-class education.”
Awarded districts will prioritize recruiting and retaining male educators, which advances the governor’s work to support young men and boys by fostering opportunities for mentorship as well as social and emotional development in the classroom.
“More diverse teachers help us meet three urgent needs: More positive role models for young people, more Marylanders in stable, rewarding careers, and a smaller teacher shortage gap,” said Carmel Martin, Special Secretary, Governor’s Office for Children. “Grow Your Own’s focus on expanding teacher diversity, including recruiting and retaining more men, creates a clear pathway to achieving these goals with qualified educators rooted in our school communities.”
Highlights for this round of Grow Your Own Grants include:
- The Eastern Shore of Maryland Education Consortium, which includes the Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset and Talbot school systems, is a model for how smaller districts can pool resources to create regional impact.
- Washington County Public Schools has partnered with Hagerstown Community College and Frostburg State University to build a three-year bachelor’s degree program focused on On-the-Job-Training, with 100% transfer credit from the community college to the university.
- Recruitment efforts in Prince George’s County Public Schools will include male representation in promotional materials, targeted outreach to male affinity groups within the district, and targeted outreach through its Men Make a Difference Conference to share information about the pathway with educators, including paraprofessionals.
- Institutions of higher education who received awards—as part of the collaboratives with local school systems and labor partners—include Bowie State University, Chesapeake College, College of Southern Maryland, Frostburg State University, Hagerstown Community College, McDaniel College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Prince George’s Community College, Salisbury University, Towson University, University of Maryland, College Park, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
“It’s critically important that we expand high-quality pathways to becoming an educator,” said Maryland State Education Association President Paul Lemle. “The Grow Your Own efforts recognize that teaching is a profession that requires investment, training, and support. These programs meet the needs of our students, and our future, by providing great teachers to schools across the state. They also open a door into teaching for students and workers who are currently in other roles, but whose career goals include making a difference in our classrooms.”
The Grow Your Own Educators Grant Program was expanded through the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act signed by Governor Moore last year, which takes additional steps to address the teacher shortage by developing fully licensed teachers through recruitment campaigns and supporting debt-free pathways to teacher licensure.
The Moore-Miller Administration continues to make recruiting and retaining educators a top priority through other initiatives. Additional initiatives include the Teacher Quality and Diversity Grant program, which will provide $1 million to programs to diversify and strengthen teaching programs; Maryland’s first state-sponsored registered apprenticeship program for teaching; and the State’s partnership with teach.org to strengthen Maryland’s national recruitment campaign to attract licensed and prospective teachers.
