About the Grow Your Own Program

The TN GYO Program exists to end teacher shortages in Tennessee by strengthening the educator pipeline. Nationally, GYO programs have become a leading strategy for addressing educator shortages. The distinctives of the TN GYO Program are that it:

• Provides a pathway into the education profession with no out-of-pocket academic costs for learners and no debt.
• Leverages registered apprenticeship as a new model for preparation.
• Expands local partnerships to build locally contextualized solutions.
• Increases the demographic representation of the educator workforce.

Tennessee Grow Your Own Center

The Tennessee Grow Your Own Center was established through a a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) and the University of Tennessee System. The GYO Center serves as a programmatic intermediary. The center’s mission is to strengthen the educator pipeline in TN through three strategic priorities.

1. Partnership development: Strong relationships among educator preparation providers (colleges), local educational agencies (school districts), and community-based agencies are essential to the success of the program. The center facilitates these partnerships.
2. Program Innovation: Registered apprenticeship as a model for equipping educators is new territory, so the center empowers college partners to re-imagine how coursework and assessment might occur differently for an apprentice than for a traditional candidate.
3. Resourcing and support: The center serves as a subgrant provider to help defray the cost of the apprentice’s learning journey. It also supports all stakeholders through technical assistance, process improvement, and technology implementation. For more information on Tennessee’s Grow Your Own program, visit TDOE’s Grow Your Own website.

Vision Statement

The Tennessee Grow Your Own Center makes every K-12 learner’s educational experience better by equipping their schools with expanded pipelines of education professionals who are confident, highly skilled, and committed to their communities.