May 2010: Legislature proposes transfer of authority over GYO from ISBE to IBHE
As of this writing (5/18/10), this bill has passed both houses of the Legislature but has not been signed into law by the Governor.
April 2010: House passes HB 391, appropriating $3,500,000 for GYO for FY 11.
While it is clear that the final appropriation for all programs is going to subject to further negotiations, this vote represents a very strong commitment on the part of the House leadership to the future of GYO.
February 2010: Third Annual Grow Your Own Teachers Day held in the Capitol Rotunda, Springfield
Among the speakers from the legislature were House Speaker Michael Madigan, House Education Appropriations Chair Linda Chapa-LaVia, Senators Martinez, Collins, Lightford, and Hunter, and Representatives Golar, Lang, Will Davis, Graham. In addition, the large crowd heard from 12 candidates representing consortia from across the state
November 2009: GYO Partner Council holds its first meeting
After several months of planning, representatives of GYO partners around the state were selected to form the new GYO Partner Council, a deliberative body that will make recommendations to ISBE and the GYO Illinois about research and policy initiatives; the group held its organizing meeting at the conclusion of the SLN sessions on November 19th.
November 2009: Statewide Learning Network conference takes place at National-Louis University
Linda Darling-Hammond, one of the nation's most prominent researchers, provided the keynote presentation, and the conference focused in breadth and depth on the issue of Effective Teaching.
August 2009: Governor Quinn Sets FY 10 funding at $3.15 million.
Under emergency budget powers granted by the Legislature in a very difficult budget year, the Governor restored all but 10% of the previous years' funding.
August 2009: GYO IL Joins the Responsible Budget Coalition
As an organization with a statewide constituency dependent on state government funding, Grow Your Own Illinois joined with more than 200 other education groups, human service providers, and civic organizations in a coalition effort to mobilize grassroots efforts to persuade the Illinois Legislature to pass a budget which includes a substantial structural revenue increase.
February 2009: Second Grow Your Own Teachers Day celebrates GYO candidates and promotes legislative agenda
On February 18th, nearly 200 supporters (teacher candidates, project staff, community members) of the Grow Your Own Teachers initiative gathered in the Illinois Capitol Rotunda in Springfield for the second annual Grow Your Own Teachers Day proclaimed by Governor Patrick Quinn. (Find a more extensive post-rally press release here.) After a spirited rally under the dome, including speeches from many legislators, including Speaker Madigan, and a number of extraordinary teacher candidates, participants talked to many individual legislators (in the hallways, and in offices) and found them exceptionally positive about Grow Your Own Teachers. In particular, many agreed to support SB 225/ HB 391, calling for an appropriation of $4.5 million for the program, and SB 226/HB392, the technical amendments that ISBE and GYO Illinois have proposed.
June 2008: GYO Program receives a $500,000 increase.
The legislature singled out Grow Your Own Teachers for one of the few appropriations increases in discretionary educational programs, raising the appropriation for FY 09 to $3,500,000. The increase will allow ISBE to bring the newer projects up to parity with the projects that began in FY 07, and allow some key services to be restored by projects that had been cut in FY 08.
May 2008: Six GYO candidates graduate
Three of the graduates are from the Logan Square Nueva Generacion cohort that was the prototype for the program. The rest are candidates who joined the program while already being enrolled in the participating College of Education.
February 2008: First Grow Your Own Teachers Day Celebrated
More than 150 representatives of GYO projects around the state braved snowstorms to travel to Springfield for a rally in the Capitol Rotunda. Legislators, candidates, and friends of the program spoke. Click here for further details
October 2007: GYO Program expands to three new locations
The programs in the Uptown/Rogers Park area on the north side of Chicago, in Peoria, and in the seven counties of the Southernmost area of the state have all enrolled their initial group of cohort members, bringing the size of the program to 545 participants in 16 separate projects. With funding by the legislature continuing at the $3,000,000 level for the year, all projects have been placed under stringent limitations in order to accomodate the expansion.
June 2007: Legislative Update; ISBE announces extension funding
Early this month, the state legislature completed passage of the Grow Your Own Teachers program amendment bill for which clarifies language about the rights and responsibilities of program partners and expands and refines the definition of allowable costs. The legislature is currently considering budget issues, and GYO supporters have requested a $1.5 million increase in the budget for the program, which is necessary to expand the program into new communities and permit current programs to serve more candidates. (For a further rationale ; here.) FY 08 continuation funding for projects cannot be approved until a budget is in place. Since the legislature is already in "overtime", it is not clear when this will occur.
The Illinois State Board of Education is trying to help current projects with this transition by reallocating funds left over from FY 07 - due to the fact that many implementation projects which were expected to begin in September were not funded until December. In May, projects submitted revised budgets which will provide funding for summer activities as well funding the forgivable loans for students registering for the Fall semester. These "extension requests" are currently in the ISBE budget review process.
March, 2007: Funded Projects, New Amendments, Planning Grants
* Every community that received a planning grant in 2006 has now been funded for an implementation project. In a few cases, the consortium members have changed, but the major focus of each project remains the same. Here is a list of projects in PDF format.
* Over 400 candidates are currently enrolled in these programs. Here is a profile of candidates as of last fall.
* The ISBE budget for FY 2008 contains $4.5 million for Grow Your Own Teachers, which will allow the expansion of the program into two or more new communities, and the addition of up to 160 candidates to the 400 already being served.
* A new round of planning grant proposals was solicited in January, and three planning grants for new projects were awarded - for Peoria, the Uptown and Rogers Park communities on the North Side of Chicago, and Southernmost Illinois - a five-county area with many small school districts at the southeast tip of the state.
May 5, 2006: Amendments and Appropriation pass the State Legislature
In the closing days of its Spring session, the legislature passed SB 2235, a set of technical and substantive amendments to the original Grow Your Own Teachers Act. Click here for the full text, with the amendments clearly highlighted. Senator Iris Martinez and Representative Esther Golar were the primary sponsors of this important legislation.
In addition, the legislature passed the FY 2007 budget, including a total appropriation of $3,000,000 for implementing Grow Your Own Projects around the state - up to 10 will be funded.
