Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) was recently awarded an additional grant to continue a program designed to recruit, prepare and retain Maryland educators.
The Grow Your Own Educators Grant Program is designed to strengthen sustainable and locally rooted teacher preparation pathways, according to a release from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE).
Funding through the Maryland Grow Your Own Educators Grant Program, Round 2, follows an earlier grant CCPS received last spring to support the Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program, which creates a pathway for educational paraprofessionals to become certificated teachers. CCPS Grow Your Own candidates work for the school system as substitutes, instructional assistants, support staff or conditionally licensed teachers.
For Round 2, the grant funding will support the alternative licensure program allowing for those with a bachelor’s degree to enter an accelerated pathway toward licensure as a teacher.
Conditional teachers currently working for CCPS will benefit from the second round of grant funding. “The funding will allow them to attend Notre Dame of Maryland University 100% cost free to them,” Holly Dolan, CCPS staff growth and retention specialist, said. Grant funds may be used for tuition, books and fees, assessment costs and program admission costs.
While the opportunity is available to all conditional teachers, CCPS plans to focus on further closing gaps in hard-to-fill areas like secondary mathematics, special education and early childhood, among others. Overall, the funding targets teacher shortages outlined in MSDE’s 2025-2026 Teacher Shortage Area Report.
With Round 2 funding — which extends through June 30, 2030 — CCPS intends to fund professional licensure for 75 conditional teachers, broken up into three cohorts of 25. As conditional teachers work in the classroom, they earn up to 45 credits of experiential learning.
“That, coupled with accelerated coursework, means that they could complete their license in 12 to 15 months,” Dolan said.
Earlier this year, CCPS received more than $2 million in grant money from the state’s Grow Your Own Educators program. The money supports the Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program which is designed to create a pathway for educational paraprofessionals to become certificated teachers.
MSDE said the grant program supports partnerships between local school systems, employee organizations, and colleges and universities in Maryland. The program also supports approved alternative partnership models to develop on-the-job teacher licensure pathways that are sustainable.
“The Grow Your Own program is the vital mechanism for addressing our teacher shortage by recognizing and licensing the professionals already within our school system,” Gov. Wes Moore said earlier this year when announcing the Grow Your Own grant program. “This strategic pipeline investment is the foundation for a diverse and world-class educator workforce, ensuring our students benefit from the mentorship and quality support they deserve.”
A 2024 paper, “The Rise and Fall of the Teaching Profession: Prestige, Interest, Preparation, and Satisfaction over the Last Half Century,” written by Matthew A. Kraft and Melissa Arnold Lyon and published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, reported that about 8% of the college-educated workforce, or nearly 5.4 million people in the United States, teach in kindergarten-Grade 12 schools. Beginning in 2010, the number of people going into teaching has declined citing potential factors such as stagnant wages, high college costs, weakening unions and low teacher autonomy.
The Grow Your Own program aims to increase the number of teachers by providing a clear path to gain certification as well as the opportunity to serve the communities that raised them.
“For many participants, especially those who grew up in the communities we serve, there is a strong sense of giving back,” Dolan said. “They want to teach in schools that shaped them and contribute to the success of future generations.”
Dolan has heard from Grow Your Own candidates that they have an interest in helping students see possibilities in themselves, in being the type of adult who encouraged them when they were younger. “They recognize that teaching is about far more than delivering content,” Dolan said. “It is about building relationships, fostering belonging and helping students develop the academic, social and life skills they need to thrive.”
About CCPS
Charles County Public Schools provides 27,904 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.
The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.
CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).