Nationally, according to data from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the number of students earning an undergraduate degree in education has dropped from 200,000 annually in the early 1970s to less than 90,000 in 2018-191. Most recent pre-pandemic data from 2018-19 shows that this trend has been particularly pronounced in high-need specialty areas, as there has been a 4% decrease in special education degrees conferred, a 27% decrease in science and mathematics education, and a 44% decrease in foreign language education2. In addition, the coronavirus pandemic has led to an overall decline in undergraduate enrollment, which has further contributed to declining participation in teacher preparation3. Furthermore, despite continued efforts, there continues to be a mismatch between the demographics of teachers and the students they serve. According to AACTE, 55% of students currently enrolled in public schools in the U.S. are non-white, compared to 29% of annual completers of teacher preparation programs at a national level who identified as non-white4.

Houston is not immune to these national trends. In the 2022-2023 school year, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) experienced over 550 teacher vacancies. Of these vacancies, 20% were in Special Education, 14% were in Mathematics and Science, 11% were in English/Language Arts/Reading, and 9% were in Bilingual Education. Over the last three school years, these same subject areas have persisted with high vacancy rates, reinforcing HISD’s need for sustainable talent solutions – Special Education accounts for 23% of total vacancies since 2020, Mathematics and Science for 14%, English/Language Arts/Reading for 11%, and Bilingual Education for 10%. Moreover, according to data from the 2021-2022 school year, while Hispanic/Latino students comprise 62% of all HISD students, Hispanic/Latino teachers only comprised 31% of all HISD teachers. This is particularly pronounced at the high school level, where Hispanic/Latino students comprise 64% of students but only 21% of teachers.    

Despite these challenges, “Grow Your Own” (GYO) strategies offer a promising solution for increasing teacher diversity, improving teacher recruitment and retention efforts, and lowering barriers to entry that may prevent passionate, talented individuals from earning their degree and entering the teaching profession. Within the last few years, a number of states, including Tennessee and West Virginia, have received national attention for GYO strategies that remove financial barriers for aspiring teachers to enroll in teacher preparation programs and earn a post-secondary degree. Aspiring teachers in these programs spend a majority of their preparation time in the classroom receiving mentorship and support from expert, cooperating teachers, while being paid as full-time employees of the district.  

Part of HISD’s theory of action for the World-Class Talent commitment of the strategic plan is to build clear instructional pathways to increase the number of excellent, representative teachers in HISD. To achieve this, the district is developing Grow Your Own programs to provide prospective future teachers with the skills, knowledge, and certification to lead as teachers. 

There is great promise for Grow Your Own Programs in HISD. Over the past five years, the district has partnered with the University of Houston (UH) to implement the Teach Forward Houston Grow Your Own (GYO) program to support current HISD high school students interested in teaching to obtain their bachelor’s degree in Teaching and Learning and return to teach in their communities. Of the first graduating cohort of 27 educators, 92% were retained in HISD after 3 years. Additionally, there are hundreds of teaching assistants employed in HISD who indicated interest in becoming a teacher if presented with the right pathway. While teacher shortage and diversity mismatches are concerns across the country, GYO programs are powerful mechanisms to help HISD tap into homegrown talent that already exists within its local schools and communities, helping to ensure that every HISD student has access to the excellent teachers they deserve. 

The purpose of the HISD GYO Competitive Grant is to create multiple pathways for aspiring educators who currently hold an associate’s degree (or equivalent 60 credits) to become teachers for free and get paid to do so. These aspiring educators may be current teaching assistants, substitute teachers, tutors, non-certified employees, parents, guardians, or other community members. As part of a HISD GYO program, participants will be able to earn their bachelor’s degree and licensure to teach in Texas, while being full-time employed by HISD as a teaching assistant.  

The HISD GYO Competitive Grant offers up to 10 grants of $100,000 each to Education Preparation Providers (EPPs) who can offer high-quality, low-cost pathways to aspiring educators. EPPs are allowed to (and are encouraged to) apply for multiple grant awards. The HISD GYO Competitive Grant is heavily weighted in favor of a higher number of candidates served, while still maintaining program quality. It also gives preference to programs that equip teachers to teach high-vacancy subject areas. It is open to bachelor’s degree-granting programs only.   

By increasing EPP enrollment, removing financial barriers, prioritizing extended clinical internship/student teaching experience and time spent in the classroom, and recruiting directly from within our local communities, HISD believes it can strengthen existing EPP relationships and forge new partnerships that will provide a sustainable, high-quality teacher pipeline. 

​​​This competitive solicitation is open to any Texas Education Agency approved educator preparation providers (EPP) from Texas public universities, colleges, and community colleges issuing bachelor’s degrees. 

Note: EPPs may submit multiple grant applications. EPPs who wish to submit more than one application should follow the same submission procedures and deadlines for all applications they submit.  

*Note: HISD may choose to give awards to Early Applicants, or HISD may choose to defer final consideration of an early application until all applications are received at the Regular Application Deadline. HISD may award anywhere from $0 to the full $1,000,000 to early applicants, depending on the competitiveness of the proposals. Any Early Applicants who do not receive a Notice of Award will be automatically re-considered against the full applicant pool in June.

**Note: All contract/MoU signature deadlines and proposed contract/MoU start dates are tentative and subject to all final approvals once grant awards are determined. 

There is no minimum or maximum page or word limit for individual questions or for the entire application. Applicants are encouraged to respond to each question thoroughly but concisely. Standard formatting conventions of 1-inch margins and 11–12-point font are encouraged.   

EPP applicants must submit all application materials, via email, to Kaylan Connally at kaylan.connally@houstonisd.org by 11:59 p.m. CST on May 26, 2023, for the Early Application Deadline, or by 11:59 p.m. CST on June 16, 2023, for the Regular Application Deadline. Paper copies of this application will not be accepted. Applicants should follow all instructions as outlined in the “Steps to submitting an application” section below. 

Note: EPPs may submit multiple grant applications. EPPs who wish to submit more than one application should follow the same submission procedure, as outlined here, for each application they submit. For example, if an EPP is submitting five applications, HISD should receive five separate emails with five separate attachments.  

Steps to submitting an application:  

1. Address all application components in sequential order.  
2. Clearly label each section (i.e., mandatory, technical, budget).  
3. Ensure it is clear to which item each response corresponds.   
4. Save application as one PDF.  
5. Submit a PDF copy of the application, via email, to kaylan.connally@houstonisd.org. All application materials must be submitted by the deadlines listed above.