Who Is Growing Their Own Teachers? A 50-State Evidence Check
A primary-source-backed study of state teacher apprenticeships, classified-staff pathways, residencies, tuition support, outcomes, and Wichita's local pipeline.
Teacher shortages tempt policymakers to count anything labeled Grow Your Own as progress. A grant announcement becomes a program. A paid practicum becomes an apprenticeship. An emergency credential becomes a completed teacher pipeline. That arithmetic is comforting and wrong.
This study asks a harder question: which states are building teachers from within their communities, and what does the public evidence actually prove? The answer is not one national ranking. It is a patchwork of grants, classified-staff pathways, residencies, scholarships, registered apprenticeships, and local partnerships.
The national read
Among the 50 states, this evidence pass records direct primary evidence for 48 states with either a state-funded Grow Your Own program or statewide pathway and financial support. It records 43 states with a current registered teacher apprenticeship at the statewide or local level. Those are different measures and should stay different.
The weakest part of the national evidence is outcomes. For 45 states, the ledger contains a current enrollment, completion, or licensure figure at either the primary or secondary evidence tier. 47 states have a source clear enough to verify that at least one tracked pathway ends in a standard or full teaching credential. Missing evidence is shown as not yet verified, never as zero.
What counts, and what does not
This study keeps seven evidence classes separate:
- Program existence
- Legal authorization
- Funding awards
- Actual expenditures
- Enrollment
- Completion
- Certification outcomes
A press release can verify an award. It cannot verify that the money was spent, that candidates enrolled, or that anyone earned a license. A paid classroom placement is not automatically a registered apprenticeship. A district program is not automatically statewide policy.
The policy problem hiding inside the label
Grow Your Own is not a single intervention. States use at least four distinct levers:
- Direct grants to districts, preparation providers, or consortia
- Tuition aid, scholarships, stipends, and forgivable loans
- Registered apprenticeships combining paid work, mentoring, coursework, and progressive wages
- Residencies or classified-staff pathways that may or may not be registered apprenticeships
The strongest systems connect these pieces and make the credential endpoint explicit. The weakest systems announce a pathway and stop reporting before the public can see whether candidates finished.
Wichita: local execution inside a statewide framework
Wichita Public Schools is a useful case because it shows why local and state evidence must be separated.
WPS offers teaching and early-childhood pathways across its comprehensive high schools, including classroom practicum experiences. Its Future Teacher Academy is a partnership with WSU Tech and Wichita State University. The published 2+2 plan combines 54 WSU Tech credit hours with 66 Wichita State credit hours and leads to a 120-credit bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education Unified, K-6. Students may work as paid WPS paraeducators while completing the pathway. The final Wichita State sequence includes an 11-credit teaching internship and a teacher-licensure capstone.
Wichita State also publishes a separate pathway for current WPS paraeducators. It launched cohorts in January and August 2025, requires an associate degree plus prerequisite courses, and culminates in a full-time teaching internship. The university lists 71 Wichita State credit hours and an approximate FY2025 tuition and fee total of $24,798, excluding books.
WPS separately operates a district-funded Grow Your Own Teacher forgivable-loan program for classified employees working at least 0.50 FTE and substitute staff. Applicants need one full year of WPS employment, at least 60 college credits with a 2.7 GPA, and admission to a Kansas education or licensure program. That is district policy, not proof of a statewide Kansas GYO grant.
Kansas does provide statewide infrastructure. KSDE operates a four-year competency-based Registered Teacher Apprenticeship for paraprofessionals, graduating seniors, and non-degreed staff. Apprentices earn progressive wages, receive mentor support and tuition assistance when funding is available, complete an approved bachelor’s program, and receive a Kansas teaching license upon successful completion. The Kansas Board of Regents separately administers the Kansas Teacher Service Scholarship.
Primary sources:
- Wichita Public Schools Pathways to Teaching
- Wichita State and WSU Tech Future Teacher Academy
- Wichita State pathway for current WPS paraeducators
- KSDE Registered Teacher Apprenticeship standards guidance
- KSDE district implementation resources
- Kansas Board of Regents scholarships and grants
No current public WPS source found in this pass reported cohort enrollment, program completions, or licensure outcomes. Those values remain not yet verified.
50-state matrix
| State | State support | Registered apprenticeship | Credential endpoint | Outcome evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Alaska | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Arizona | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Arkansas | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| California | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Not Yet Verified | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Colorado | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Connecticut | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Delaware | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Florida | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Not Yet Verified | Primary source |
| Georgia | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Hawaii | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Not Yet Verified | Standard Or Full | Not Yet Verified | Primary source |
| Idaho | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Illinois | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Local | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Indiana | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Local | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Iowa | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Kansas | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Kentucky | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Louisiana | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Local | Standard Or Full | Not Yet Verified | Primary source |
| Maine | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Maryland | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Massachusetts | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Michigan | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Not Yet Verified | Primary source |
| Minnesota | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Mississippi | Statewide financial or policy support | Not Yet Verified | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Missouri | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Local | Standard Or Full | Not Yet Verified | Primary source |
| Montana | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Nebraska | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Nevada | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Local | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| New Hampshire | Local or institution-led pathway only | Not Yet Verified | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| New Jersey | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Local | Not Yet Verified | Partial | Primary source |
| New Mexico | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Not Yet Verified | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| New York | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| North Carolina | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| North Dakota | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Ohio | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Oklahoma | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Not Yet Verified | Not Yet Verified | Partial | Primary source |
| Oregon | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Pennsylvania | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Rhode Island | Local or institution-led pathway only | Registered Local | Not Yet Verified | Partial | Primary source |
| South Carolina | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Not Yet Verified | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| South Dakota | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Tennessee | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Reported | Primary source |
| Texas | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Local | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Utah | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Vermont | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Virginia | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Washington | State-funded Grow Your Own program | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| West Virginia | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Wisconsin | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
| Wyoming | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
Washington, D.C. comparison
D.C. is shown separately so a 51-jurisdiction scan does not quietly become a 51-state claim.
| State | State support | Registered apprenticeship | Credential endpoint | Outcome evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, D.C. | Statewide financial or policy support | Registered Statewide | Standard Or Full | Partial | Primary source |
Method and evidence limits
The controlling sources are statutes, state education and workforce agencies, registered-apprenticeship materials, appropriations, official program pages, and official reports. Secondary scans were used as leads, not as final proof of consequential classifications.
Each record carries direct URLs, source tier, an as-of date, confidence, and a caveat. not_yet_verified means the current primary-source search did not establish the claim. It does not mean the state has no program. The dashboard is a research tool, not legal advice.
What leaders should ask next
Do not ask only whether a state has Grow Your Own. Ask whether candidates are paid, whether tuition is covered, whether the pathway is registered, whether the credential is standard, and whether the state publishes completions and licenses earned.
A teacher pipeline is not real because a program has a name. It is real when people can enter it, afford it, finish it, earn the right credential, and teach.