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Maryland awards $19.4 million in first round of Grow Your Own grants; 13 LEA collaboratives funded
Summary
MSDE announced $19.4 million awarded in round 1 of its Grow Your Own grant program, funding 13 LEA collaboratives and projecting support for 622 participants; MSDE said applicants requested roughly $47 million and that another $19.4 million is earmarked for 2027.
Dr. Jason Keyes told the Professional Standards Board that MSDE awarded $19,400,000 in the first round of the Grow Your Own grant program and expects awardees to begin implementation immediately.
‘‘So we had $19,400,000 for round 1,’’ Dr. Keyes said, describing a competitive process that produced about $47,000,000 in grant requests from 20 collaborative applications. MSDE funded 13 collaboratives (roughly a 65 percent success rate), with awards designed to support paraprofessionals and conditionally licensed teachers and to prioritize affordability, diversity and retention.
Dr. Keyes said the program requires collaborative applications that include, at minimum, an LEA and the associated union; proposals that include an institution of higher education had to include a Maryland IHE. He described funded pathways including registered teacher apprenticeships, paraprofessional-to-teacher pathways and alternative and traditional preparation programs.
MSDE projected the awards would fund 622 teacher participants at an average cost per participant of $32 as presented to the board; that figure was described as an average intended to cover tuition, fees, mentor stipends, mentor training, administrative costs and some licensure support. Dr. Keyes said the department will onboard LEAs into the Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program and plans a second round of funding next summer, funded again at $19,400,000 in the 2027 budget.
Why it matters: The grants are designed to build local, community‑rooted pipelines for teachers by reducing cost barriers and expanding pathways into the profession. MSDE said it will provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants to strengthen second‑round proposals.
