Maryland Grow Your Own Educators Grant Program

The Maryland Grow Your Own Educators Grant Program aims to create a sustainable teacher pipeline by recruiting local school employees to become licensed teachers. This initiative supports collaboration between school systems, employee organizations, and higher education institutions. Grant funds cover essential costs such as tuition and mentoring. Participants commit to teaching in high-needs areas for three years, helping to address educational inequities and strengthen community ties within Maryland's diverse educational landscape.

Maryland State Department of Education
Maryland has over 1,400 public schools, 24 local education agencies, and over 7,000 child care providers serving all of the state’s 23 counties plus Baltimore City. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) works collaboratively with the State Board of Education and stakeholders to ensure the promise of an excellent and equitable education for all students, especially those who have been historically underserved. At MSDE, we are a dedicated team of educators, specialists, and administrators joined together by a single vision: to be a system of world-class schools where students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for success in college, career, and life.
Purpose
The Maryland Grow Your Own Educators Grant Program helps local school systems build a sustainable teacher pipeline by recruiting and preparing school-based employees from their own communities to become licensed teachers while they continue working in Maryland schools.
The program supports formal collaboratives between a local school system, at least one employee organization representing employees, and at least one Maryland institution of higher education or approved alternative partnership model. Grant funds may be used for allowable costs such as tuition, books, fees, and mentor support for participating candidates. In return, participants commit to a three-year service pledge as full-time teachers in high-needs schools, grade levels, or content areas within the same local school system where they are employed.