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15 January, 2022
Grow your own to target local students
High performing country students will be targeted through a new program encouraging people to consider a teaching career within their own regional community.

The new ‘grow your own’ program is
aimed at strengthening the quality of
teachers in regional communities.
“Research tells us that people who
grew up in the bush are more likely to go
on to practice their careers in a regional
setting than those from metropolitan
backgrounds,” said deputy premier Paul
Toole.
“I strongly believe that encouraging
our future teachers to build their careers
in the bush will ensure our students are
taught by quality teachers who are passionate
about and proud of their regional
background.”
Gilgandra High School’s teachers
federation representative, Bree Patton,
sees this initiative as a reaction, rather
than a well thought out plan.
“The recent media release regarding
the ‘grow your own’ program seems a
largely reactive response to the pressure
being placed on them by principals
unable to staff their schools adequately,
and the union’s recent strike,” said Miss
Patton.
“Having known about these issues for
some time now, the department needs to
be held accountable. Any released details
of this new initiative have been vague in
nature and it’s not good enough.”
Minister for education and early
childhood learning, Sarah Mitchell, said
the initiative is part of the recently
released teacher supply strategy.
“Our new ‘grow your own’ program
will target senior students who, after year
12, will have the opportunity to be
employed initially as a school learning
support officer in a regional school for a
year to gain valuable work experience
and mentoring,” said Ms Mitchell.
“After this year, students will be supported
by the NSW Government to apply
for an initial teacher education degree,
with the expectation that they would pursue
their career back in their local community
or in another regional, rural or
remote town.”
The program is set to be piloted in 2022 in several regional schools,