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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The initiative that was to become Grow Your Own
3was started by the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, a
4community organizing group working in a low-income Latino
5neighborhood; and
 
6    WHEREAS, After launching a Parent Mentor program in the
71990s, the Logan Square Neighborhood Association observed that
8many of the participating parents wanted to become teachers but
9could not afford college; the Association recognized this as an
10opportunity to further develop community-parent-school
11relations; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The Logan Square Neighborhood Association
13partnered with a faculty member from Chicago State University
14and was awarded a federal Teacher Quality Enhancement grant to
15launch Nueva Generacion, the precursor to Grow Your Own; the
16goal of the new program was to prepare teachers who knew the
17language and culture of the students in Logan Square's
18classrooms; and
 
19    WHEREAS, At the same time, Action Now, formerly Illinois
20ACORN, began to realize that their problem was not only
21recruiting teachers to the North Lawndale schools but also
22retaining good teachers; Action Now decided to tackle the goal

 

 

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1of improving teacher quality and retention by creating a new
2coalition, the Chicago Learning Campaign; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The Logan Square Neighborhood Association was the
4first of many community organizations to join the campaign to
5"grow" teachers from local residents, including
6paraprofessionals, community leaders, and parents, thus
7creating the solution to the high rates of teacher turnover in
8their community; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The campaign was later joined by the TARGET Area
10Development Corporation in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood,
11Kenwood Oakland Community Organization from the mid-South
12Side, and Southwest Organizing Project in the Gage Park/Chicago
13Lawn neighborhood; and
 
14    WHEREAS, In 2004, the organizers successfully advocated
15for a Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act; in 2005, the program
16received State funding and became Grow Your Own Illinois, a
17non-profit organization; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Grow Your Own Illinois partnered with the Illinois
19State Board of Education to develop the initiative statewide;
20the organization was also responsible for brokering additional
21partnerships among community organizations, local school
22districts, and 4-year degree-granting universities; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, In 2010, Grow Your Own Illinois was transferred to
2the Illinois Board of Higher Education, where the organization
3has been diligently working with the agency to improve the
4program; therefore, be it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7we show our continued support for Grow Your Own Illinois'
8commitment to providing quality teachers from high-need
9communities who want to remain in their community; and be it
10further
 
11    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12presented to Grow Your Own Illinois as a symbol of our esteem
13and respect.