UH's Grow Our Own Grants Battle Hawaii's Teacher Exodus

HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii system is ramping up its fight against soaring teacher turnover with the Grow Our Own (GOO) Teachers Initiative, offering stipends reimbursing tuition costs up to $26,876 for programs like the MEdT Hawaiian Immersion track. Approved for 2025-2026 funding as of August 2024, the program prioritizes Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) employees such as emergency hires and educational assistants pursuing licensure in high-shortage areas including English, math, science, world languages and Hawaiian studies. Applicants must commit to three years of full-time K-12 teaching in Hawaii public schools post-graduation, with deadlines like October 1, 2024, for Fall 2024 MEdT admits.

Hawaii's teacher crisis underscores the urgency: HIDOE reports a mere 51% five-year retention rate, with 38% of departures involving educators leaving the state entirely and retirement as the next biggest factor. More than 500 vacancies persist this school year, hitting rural islands like Hawaii Island and Maui hardest, where shortages in special education and STEM fields exacerbate overcrowding and reliance on underprepared substitutes. UH Manoa's College of Education, leading GOO's seventh cohort recruitment, allocated nearly $1 million in spring 2024 scholarships to aspiring teachers in bachelor and post-baccalaureate programs.

Complementing GOO, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke announced a $4.9 million federal State Apprenticeship Expansion grant in July 2024, funding 142 aspiring educators to earn bachelor's degrees tuition-free through a K-12 apprenticeship with HIDOE, DLIR and Hawaii Teacher Standards Board. These layered efforts aim to stem the exodus, building on initiatives like the federal TEACH Grant offering up to $4,000 annually for high-need subjects at Title I schools, requiring four years of service. As Hawaii's public schools serve 180,000 students across islands, retaining local talent is key to closing persistent gaps.