Application Requirements
Grow Your Own Illinois (GYO-IL) was established to address chronic teacher shortages and teacher turnover by recruiting and preparing racially diverse community members to become licensed classroom teachers and returning them to their local schools. GYO-IL’s support of community residents to become teachers both builds on the strengths of communities and promotes educational equity by ensuring all children have access to high-quality teachers. GYO-IL draws upon teacher candidates’ connections with and understanding of their communities to transform teaching and learning. To realize its mission to prepare racially diverse and community-connected teachers, GYO-IL programs provide financial, academic, and wrap around supports to remove individual and systemic barriers that prospective teachers may face in becoming licensed.
With these understandings, please complete the following application components: (1) scanned transcripts; (2) two letters of recommendation as specified; and (3) the writing sample as described.
Transcripts
Scanned copies of all college transcripts (they can be unofficial copies). If you have not attended college, please provide proof of a high school diploma or GED.
A Writing Sample
Please answer all three of the following prompts and each of the embedded questions in no less than 6 paragraphs.:
What has led you to want to become a teacher in a hard-to-staff school and what strengths do you believe you would bring to teaching diverse young people in the classroom?
Think of the different ways you participate within your community. What have you learned? How will this learning make you a high-quality teacher?
Describe one personal or systemic barrier you have faced and how you have worked to address it. What did you learn from this experience and how might this learning support you on your way to becoming a licensed teacher?
Two Letters of Recommendation
One letter from a reference who can attest to your participation in community life (outside of the school).
One letter-from a reference who can attest to your commitment to teaching and care for diverse young people.