PDK International Releases Resources for Grow Your Own Programs

Educators Rising is PDK International’s Grow Your Own (GYO) teacher preparation program. We recently researched the impacts Educators Rising has within the communities where Educators Rising chapters are active, using our Educators Rising Curriculum to support communities in building their teacher pipeline.
In addition to the research brief on Educators Rising, we have provided draft legislation that can be used by states to support comprehensive, GYO programs like Educators Rising.

Impacts of Educators Rising

Get the Research Brief

Draft Legislation for GYO

Get the Draft Legislation

Supporting Educators Rising

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It’s time for a better approach to teacher recruitment and development.

  • Not having enough candidates for open teaching positions is a challenge to districts nationwide. [1] [2]

  • Many students do not have teachers who reflect their racial or ethnic backgrounds, which may impact their sense of belonging and educational outcomes. [3]

  • As the student population is projected to grow by more than 3 million students over the next decade, teacher education programs have seen a 35 percent drop in enrollment since 2009. [4]

  • Almost 60 percent of teachers work within 20 miles of where they went to high school. [5]

[1] Fortin, Jacey, and Eliza Fawcett. “How Bad Is the Teacher Shortage? Depends Where You Live.” The New York Times, 29 Aug. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/08/29/us/schools-teacher-shortages.html.

[2] Balingit, Moriah. “Teacher Shortages Have Gotten Worse. Here’s How Schools Are Coping.” Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023,

[3] National Center for Educational Statistics, Annual Reports. Characteristics of Public School Teachers. Retrieved October 31, 2022, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/clr

[4] Sutcher, L., Darling-Hammond, L., & Carver-Thomas, D. (2016). A coming crisis in teaching? Teacher supply, demand, and shortages in the U.S.. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.

[5] PDK International. (2018). The 50th annual PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. https://pdkpoll.org/assets/downloads/2018pdkpoll50.pdf

In-Depth with our Research

Highlights

  • For over two decades, states have reported varying degrees of difficulty in identifying and retaining qualified educators.
  • By recruiting locally, GYO programs aim to address teacher shortages in specific geographic areas and promote a sense of belonging and commitment to the community.
  • Educators Rising encourages, supports, and trains future educators through curriculum and student groups.
  • Educators Rising invigorates participating current educators who serve as mentors and coaches to the program.
  • Educators Rising may help to address community-specific needs.

Resources