A Landscape Analysis of “Grow Your Own” Educator Strategies in Wisconsin Rural Schools - Working Paper No. 2023-4 - September 2023

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Melati

A landscape analysis examines educator shortage challenges in Wisconsin’s rural school districts and evaluates “grow your own” (GYO) strategies used to identify, recruit, and prepare local candidates. Drawing on yearlong mixed-methods research, including statewide surveys of rural superintendents and Educators Rising site coordinators plus site visits to five districts, the report characterizes how rural communities implement national programs and homegrown initiatives. Key results address perceptions of shortage severity, data collection practices, and the organizational maturity and support structures of Educators Rising chapters.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages40

Reading Time1 h 41 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Educator shortage perceptions and strategies for attracting, recruiting, and hiring

Educators Rising

A Landscape Analysis of “Grow Your Own”Educator Strategies in Wisconsin Rural Schools WCER Working Paper No. 2023-4 Original Version August 2023; Revised Version September 2023 Bradley Carl Founding Co-Director, Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative Wisconsin Center for Education Research University of Wisconsin–Madison [brcarl@wisc.edu](brcarl@wisc.edu) Jenny Seelig Research Scientist, Education & Child Development NORC at the University of Chicago [seelig-jenny@norc.org](seelig-jenny@norc.org) Keywords: Teacher recruitment, educator shortages, rural schools Suggested citation: Carl, B., & Seelig, J. (2023). A landscape analysis of “grow your own” educator strategies in Wisconsin rural schools. (WCER Working Paper No. 2023-4). University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin Center for Education Research. © 2023 by Bradley Carl and Jenny Seelig. All rights reserved. Any opinions, findings, or conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies, WCER, or cooperating institutions. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for noncommercial purposes by any means, provided that the above copyright notice appears on all copies. WCER working papers are available at [https://wcer.wisc.edu/publications/working-papers](https://wcer.wisc.edu/publications/working-papers). This work was made possible by a research grant from UW–Madison’s Tommy G. Thompson Center for Public Leadership. We gratefully acknowledge the thoughtful engagement of Barbara Bales (University of Wisconsin System), Jeff Eide (Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance), and Leah Lechleiter-Luke (Wisconsin Educators Rising State Coordinator) . A Landscape Analysis of“Grow Your Own” Educator Strategies in Wisconsin Rural Schools Bradley Carl and Jenny Seelig Executive Summary A large share of Wisconsin’s 400+ school districts are rural, and nearly half of all students enrolled in public schools statewide attend rural schools. Persistent challenges faced by rural districts in attracting and retaining educators, however, are contributing to an increasingly dire situation for the state’s rural communities. This report summarizes findings from a yearlong research project investigating strategies being used by rural districts to address educator shortages, including a diverse set of “grow your own”(GYO) initiatives which involve school districts working with educator preparation programs (EPPs) and other local partners to identify, recruit, and prepare local candidates to become educators. Our mixed-methods research design draws upon two statewide surveys (of rural superintendents and local site coordinators ofthe Educators Rising GYO program), along with site visits to five rural districts, to accomplish two main goals: first, to identify strategies being used by rural districts to attract, recruit, and hire teachers; and second, to describe the landscape of GYO initiatives being utilized by rural Wisconsin districts and local partners to address educator shortages. Broadly speaking, our work suggests that rural school districts are not waiting on state or federal policymakers to solve longstanding staffing challenges for them, but instead are actively engaged in implementing a mix of national GYO programs such as Educators Rising and “homegrown” GYO initiatives as one solution to chronic educator shortages. Not surprisingly, a distinct set of both successes and challenges have emerged as rural districts attempt to implement, launch, sustain, and scale up GYO initiatives that meet their needs. Key findings that emerge from our work include the following: Educator shortage perceptions and strategies for attracting, recruiting, and hiring: • Superintendents and Educators Rising site coordinators in rural districts have similar perceptions ofthe severity of educator shortages facing their districts. On a scale of 1–5 (with 5 the most severe), rural superintendents’ mean

FAQs

What problem does the report focus on in Wisconsin rural school districts?

The report focuses on persistent challenges rural districts face in attracting and retaining educators, contributing to increasing staffing difficulties for rural communities.

How does the report study rural GYO strategies?

The study uses a mixed-methods design combining two statewide surveys (rural superintendents and Educators Rising site coordinators) and site visits to five rural districts.

What do the report’s findings suggest about how rural districts respond to educator shortages?

Rural districts are actively implementing a mix of national GYO programs such as Educators Rising and local “homegrown” initiatives rather than waiting for state or federal policymakers.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Melati