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.
MCL 388.1627b (Grow your own and educator development programs; competitive grant process; performance reports) was newly updated in the State School Act to provide $70 million for three tiers of GYO funds for 2025-2026 (FY26). To distinguish it from previous rounds of GYO funding that had been available from different sources, the FY26 GYO Grant is called the “GYO Educator Development Grant.”
Congratulations to the 74 Michigan intermediate school districts (ISDs), school districts, and public school academies who were awarded FY26 GYO Educator Development Grant. A complete listing of these new grantees can be found in the official MDE press release and on the 27b Award Listing website.
An orientation message has been sent to these new grantees, along with the new FY26 GYO Educator Development Monitoring and Guidance Document, which will be added to a new list of resources for the FY26 GYO grant here in the coming weeks.
Due to the volume of applicants, the Michigan Department of Education is unable to respond to specific feedback requests regarding their FY26 GYO Educator Development Grant applications. Districts whose FY26 GYO Educator Development Grant applications have been denied have thirty (30) days to appeal the decision made by MDE. To appeal, please contact The GYO Team at MDE-EdWorkforceGrants@Michigan.gov.
As always, grantees are encouraged to periodically check this page for award updates, and to contact the GYO Team at MDE-EdWorkforceGrants@Michigan.gov with any questions.
The Office of Educator Excellence (OEE) has completed all rounds of awards and would like to congratulate all awardees of the Section 27b GYO School Staff Grant.
The OEE has developed a separate website that lists all grant awardees by fiscal year: 27b Award Listings. In addition, the links to each round's award announcement are found below:
Important dates and deadlines for the grant’s performance period are listed in the table below. These dates are also available in the updated Section 27b GYO School Staff Grant Monitoring and Guidance Document, located in the new Grant Administration Resources section further down this page.
Grant Performance Period: The timeframe during which the grantee must incur, document and request reimbursement for eligible expenses. This period includes three key phases: grant start, grant implementation, and grant ending.
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To contact the GYO team for questions about the administration timeline and for all other education workforce grant-related questions, please email MDE-EdWorkforceGrants@Michigan.gov.
This video is the next installment of the “sunset guidance” for all FY23 GYO grantees. Please review it as share it with staff involved in the administration of the GYO Grant at your district. It can be accessed on MDE’s YouTube channel here:
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.
Note: For the four directories below, the “CTE” and “Teacher” listings are eligible for the Grow Your Own grant.
