TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES 2008-2009

The primary purposes of these activities are: to assist eligible organizations in planning and applying for Illinois grants under the Grow Your Own Teachers Act, in particular Planning Grants and Implementation Grants and to provide support for funded programs as they implement and evaluate their efforts.

Statewide Meetings

The meetings this year are focusing on the formation of the Statewide Learning Network, a regular exchange of ideas and experiences among the current Grow Your Own Consortia. Click here to go to reports of recent meetings.

Research Assistance

GYO Illinois analyzed and disseminated data to identify districts and schools that would be good targets for this program on issues such as percent of low-income students, teacher attrition, and diversity. This data will be regularly updated.

Consortium formation and planning assistance

 

Consulting organizers from our partner organizations worked in ten Illinois communities to help identify good program partners and lay the groundwork for excellent planning. Since the awarding of the planning grants, they have continued to support the consortia as they develop implementation plans. In anticipation of additional funding, GYO Illinois continues to promote expansion of the program into areas not currently served.

Best Practices

In 2006, the Chicago Learning Campaign, under the ISBE contract, prepared the first document aimed at defining best practices for Grow Your Own Teachers projects, concentrating on consortium formation and candidate recruitment. (Here is a link to that material.) As projects have passed through the initial phases of implementation in 2007-2008, we have continued to gather insights and systematize the lessons learned; we expect to publish additional commentary sometime in the fall.

Help for Identifying Participants

We can help you locate, assess, and select Grow Your Own candidates from your community.