Classrooms Reflecting Communities Act of 2019

Classrooms Reflecting Communities Act of 2019

This bill directs the Department of Education to award grants to eligible partnerships to develop and run a Grow Your Own Program to recruit diverse teacher candidates from the community into the teaching profession and support them through high-quality preparation to full teacher certification or licensure. The program is particularly aimed at growing the educator workforce in rural communities.

Such a program includes

• targeted recruitment efforts, including promotion of the teaching profession at high schools, minority-serving institutions, and community centers;
• creation of curriculum and coursework with principles of culturally responsive education woven throughout;
• mentorship and assistance with the teacher licensure and certification process, including test preparation; and
• direct financial assistance, including reduced tuition and in-kind financial support, such as childcare, especially for teachers being certified or licensed to teach in high-need fields or high-need communities.

The bill requires a partnership, at the end of each grant year, to submit a report that includes (1) a description of activities undertaken; (2) graduation rates; (3) the percentage and total number of teacher candidates who have been certified or licensed to teach; (4) the three- and five-year teacher retention rate in the same school and local educational agency, within the profession, and in the subjects for which the teachers were trained; and (5) surveys of teachers and community members.