To further the national work, the Collective submitted a proposal to participate in the US Department of Education’s December 2016 Teach to Lead Summit on Inclusion, Equity, and Opportunity. The Collective’s proposal was accepted and a team from Oakland, Chicago, and Peoria attended the two-day Summit that took place in Chicago.

In November 2016, five GYO candidates attended the International Conference on Urban Education to share their personal testimonials that they created during the course of the GYO Testimony Project.

In 2016, Grow Your Own Illinois secured its first-ever contract with Chicago Public Schools to assist with the recruitment and retention of diverse teachers.