ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the extent to which grow your own (GYO) programs address the need for: approaches that ameliorate drop-out/push-out factors, address the developmental needs of marginalized youth, and reduce the various “achievement gaps”; policies that reduce teacher burnout and attrition and address disparities in the distribution of highly qualified educators; recruitment, training, and induction programs capable of producing culturally responsive teachers; and methods of teacher education that avoid the liabilities of fast-track teacher education programs. GYO programs capitalize on an array of key findings from adolescent psycho-social developmental research. Promotional brochures, websites, program descriptions, legislative language, and officials quoted in newspaper articles frequently cite the same set of goals that motivate officials to create and sustain their GYO programs. If GYO programs are financially supported, it is often through private foundations. The 1993 study entitled Teaching’s Next Generation , while broad and detailed, depicts the GYO movement in an era long since passed.
