In 2022, PLD Lamplighter reported on the surge of teacher resignations due, in part, to burnout. In that article, FCPS Superintendent Dr. Demetrus Liggins said that there are things the district could do such as offset the costs of education degrees and licensure and giving teachers raises.
Since then FCPS has implemented teacher raises starting in the 2023-2024 school year, and the new initiative Grow Your Own (GYO) was created to help recruit, develop, and retain educators in the district.
GYO has many programs and is a tool for anyone looking to get into the field of education. The first type of program is for current FCPS employees.
For example, the MSTC facilitator Mrs. Elizabeth Pelphrey went through the program in 2022.
“GYO will allow people financially to be able to take that leap and maybe to try to fill some of the specialties in our district that are lacking,” she said.
The second type of program is for FCPS employees who want to become certified.
Ms. Megan White is a special education teacher at Dunbar, and she is currently going through the program. She was previously a paraeducator.
“Fayette County paid for my teaching degree at Northern Kentucky University in return for me working in FCPS for five years prior to getting the degree,” she said.
People with different industry experiences can also become certified. Business teacher Ms. Melinda Crowe worked for 17 years in the corporate world before realizing that she wanted to mentor students in that field of business instead.
“Someone who is experienced in the classroom and in the industry is able to bring more knowledge into the students from the real world,” she said.
Ms. Crowe is a Career and Technical Education teacher, so she was able to take advantage of this non-traditional path.
“I don’t have a teaching degree,” she said, “but a teaching license.”
Finally, GYO has a program for students who plan to become educators. Clubs like Educator’s Rising, advised by Family and Consumer Science teacher, Mrs. Shawna Pinson, are open to all students at Dunbar.
