Tennessee is the first state to be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor to establish a permanent Grow Your Own model, with Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and Austin Peay State University’s Teacher Residency program becoming the first registered apprenticeship program for teaching in the country. Tennessee is the first state in the country to sponsor Teacher Occupation Apprenticeship programs between school districts and Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs), which will further the state’s and nation’s efforts to extend the teacher pipeline and address teacher shortages.
This work builds on the state’s 65 existing Grow Your Own programs, which offer free opportunities to become a teacher, currently operating in Tennessee and clears the path for any other state or territory to launch similar programs with federal approval.
In October 2020, the Tennessee Department of Education launched the first round of Grow Your Own partnerships to strengthen the teacher pipeline through 65 partnerships between 14 EPPs and 63 school districts and a total initial investment of federal relief funding that will exceed $20M. The Grow Your Own model is designed to foster partnerships between EPPs and districts to provide innovative, no-cost pathways to the teaching profession by increasing EPP enrollment and growing the supply of qualified teachers.
Apprenticeship programs are high-quality, industry-driven, work-based learning pathways that provide individuals with hands-on work experience while earning a wage that increases during the progression of the program. The Teacher Occupation Apprenticeship will provide a national model and permanent Grow Your Own pathway for Tennesseans to become teachers for free and obtain high-quality jobs in their own communities.
