EIU Rural School Initiative

The Eastern Illinois University Grow Your Own Project has been developed to focus on rural communities in the south-east central part of the state. The purpose is to develop a regional pipeline for rural communities that have difficulty staffing their schools.

The EIU consortium has been made up of 82 school districts in 5 regional offices of education across 21 counties. The consortium is represented in project governance by an Advisory Council that includes 33 members and meets quarterly (See GYO/EIU Partnership Advisory List).

The primary goal of the EIU/GYO Project is to support paraprofessionals and parent/community leaders from non-traditional backgrounds to become teachers in high need communities. To do that, we work with EIU programs to offer off-campus cohorts that are tailored to working adults who want to be licensed teachers.

Candidate Eligibility

1. Paraprofessional and community leaders who work in rural communities within our four regions from rural communities who intend to return to a rural community within these regions. They will participate in specific off campus cohorts.
2. Career changers from rural communities who intend to return to a rural community within these regions:
1. Post Baccalaureate, non-traditional students who are career changers
2. Alternative certification, non-traditional students who are career changers
3. Campus-based non-traditional students (typically over 25, returning to school after an interruption or with significant family obligations) from rural communities who intend to return to a rural community within these regions.
4. Community college transfer students and EIU students who have participated in a future teacher program at a community college or the EIU Rural Teacher Corps from rural communities who intend to return to a rural community within these regions.
5. Qualified freshmen. New admissions to EIU who have participated in high school future teacher groups (Educator Rising or dual credit education courses) from rural communities who intend to return to a rural community within these regions.

Meet the Grow Your Own Students