MINNEAPOLIS – Today the Minnesota Department of Education announced that 14 Minnesota school districts and charter schools were awarded $9.4 million in Grow Your Own grants over the next five years to be used to assist adults and students in pursuing a career in education, especially those who identify as people of color or American Indian.

“We are focused on building the best teaching workforce, and the need for teachers continues to grow,” said Commissioner Willie Jett. “We look forward to welcoming more individuals to teach in their communities and to seeing how these future teachers will inspire the next generation of students.”

The districts and charter schools will use the funding through either an adult or student pathway to grow a diverse teaching workforce from their community, staff and student body.

Adult pathways assist adults interested in entering the teaching profession by providing stipends, scholarships, student teaching or field placement experiences, and other options to help them pursue a career in education. Student pathways are innovative programs that encourage secondary students to explore teaching as a profession through introductory education classes, future educator clubs, scholarships to teacher preparation programs, and other activities.

Adult Pathway Grant Recipients

• Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District
• Eagle Ridge Academy
• Edina Public Schools
• Fridley Public Schools
• Minneapolis Public Schools
• North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale School District
• Robbinsdale Area Public Schools
• Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District
• Saint Paul Public Schools
• Star of the North Academy
• Success Academy

Student Pathway Grant Recipients

• Faribault Public Schools
• Minneapolis Public Schools
• North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale School District
• Northfield Public Schools
• White Bear Lake Area Schools

Gov. Tim Walz and the 2023 Legislature expanded the Grow Your Own grants last spring as part of the Education Bill to include pathways for early childhood and family educators.

The expanded program also allows for funds to be used for Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) and concurrent enrollment programs to allow students to earn college credit. This year the legislature expanded Grow Your Own to extend eligibility to Tribal contract schools. The program also now allows for grant recipients to partner with postsecondary Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) and Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) approved teacher preparation programs and community colleges with transfer pathways to approved teacher preparation programs.

Minnesota first offered Grow Your Own grant opportunities in the 2016-17 school year with opportunities for both adults who work in school settings as paraprofessionals and for high school students.

In 2022-23, 527 high school students participated in one of 10 student pathway Grow Your Own programs. An additional 121 people participated in adult pathway programs with 58 completing their program and earning their teaching licensure. Forty-six of them were hired by their home school district.

Under Gov. Walz’s leadership, Minnesota has invested in expanding resources to support and diversify the educator workforce in Minnesota. MDE established the Educator Workforce and Development Center to create more programs to support districts, schools, communities and Tribal Nations in work to recruit, diversify, develop and retain educators in order to build the best teaching workforce in the nation.

###