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Future Proud Michigan Educator Staff Grant

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has expanded the Future Proud Michigan Educator (Future PME) initiative with a second round of grant opportunities for districts to develop Grow Your Own (GYO) programs for school staff.  

The GYO Staff grants support partnerships between PK-12 schools and educator preparation providers to develop pathways for school support staff to earn initial teacher certification or for certified teachers to earn additional endorsements.

GYO programs funded via the state budget are an extension of Michigan's efforts to grow and diversify the educator workforce and reduce educator shortages.

In high-quality GYO programs, both partners commit to wrap-around support of candidates through shared mentorship, coaching, observation, and assessment of emerging teachers from the beginning of teacher preparation coursework through the first years of their service as certified teachers. Define, Identify, and Fund Nontraditional Pathways into the Teaching Profession: A resource for Michigan Districts provides key considerations for developing a GYO program and descriptions of exemplary programs. Grow Your Own Educators: A Toolkit for Program Design and Development also provides a collection of user-friendly resources on essential elements of high-quality GYO programs.

Frequently Asked Questions

For more information or support, please contact MDE-EdWorkforceGrants@Michigan.gov.

Grant Administration Resources

  • Start with the Grow Your Own Program Development Guide for an overview of the GYO program, its goals, and the basics of how it works for districts and their candidates. This is a guide that we provide to districts who are considering GYO and are ready for the opening questions and considerations before applying. 

  • Please download the Section 27b Grow Your Own School Staff Grant Monitoring and Guidance Document (updated December 2024) and delete all previous versions. This document is your primary resource for grant administration instructions, rules, best practices, reporting deadlines, and reference information.

  • Your district may request reimbursement funds from its grant award amount on NexSys at any time using the NexSys Reimbursement Request Instructions.

  • (All deadlines for these reports are listed in the Section 27b Grow Your Own School Staff Grant Monitoring and Guidance Document.) Your budget is an updated spending plan that reflects your total award. Reference the NexSys GYO Budget Report Instructions to successfully report your updated GYO budgets on NexSys. If you are amending an existing budget, click "Amendment in Progress" in the Status Options tab in your budget application, then enter and save your updates before clicking "Submit". Note: These options are only available during the reporting window. 

  • (All deadlines for these reports are listed in the Section 27b Grow Your Own School Staff Grant Monitoring and Guidance Document.) Use the NexSys GYO Expenditure Report Instructions to successfully report your updated GYO expenditures on NexSys. Note that your expenditures report will draw from the most recently approved budget; please ensure your updated GYO Budget Report has been received and approved by OEE to avoid error messages in your expenditure report. 

  • This budget and financial reporting video resource was originally created for Round 1 grantees but contains information and tips that are relevant for all awarded districts updating their budgets for their GYO programs.

  • This application support video resource was originally created for potential Round 2 applicants but has valuable information about candidate selection, working with educator preparation programs (EPPs), and other background information about the GYO program.