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Grow Your Own Illinois

Micro-moments, major impact: Summit shows teachers how to instill resilience

July 14, 2025 Mark McGowan CI, enewsletter, Partnerships, Student Success

Ariella Cole hasn’t started teaching yet. Cole is among the 20 paraeducators currently pursuing NIU bachelor’s degrees in Elementary Education through the RISE (Rockford Inspiring School and Community Excellence) initiative. But she’s a behavioral intervention specialist who already works in District 205

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Building bridges: RISE to revolutionize teaching, learning in Rockford schools by engaging community, valuing voices

January 24, 2025 Mark McGowan CI, enewsletter, Partnerships, Student Success

Taren Turner frames her obligation as an educator in terms of “ensuring responsiveness and innovation.” And the director of Alternative Education Programming for the Rockford Public Schools has discovered ways to do just that in the RISE (Rockford Inspiring School and Community

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Already ‘rising’: RPS-205 students start strong toward grow-your-own degrees

October 29, 2024 Mark McGowan CI, enewsletter

While they still have 18 months to go, the future teachers enrolled in the Grow Your Own RISE (Rockford Inspiring School and Community Excellence) initiative are off to a great start. At the midpoint of the fall semester, the students (all current

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NIU, RPS, Grow Your Own Illinois ‘RISE’ together to equip RPS 205 employees as licensed elementary education teachers

June 4, 2024 Mark McGowan CI, enewsletter

More than two dozen future teachers who already work for the Rockford Public Schools in support roles are now on their way to employer-paid bachelor’s degrees in Elementary Education from Northern Illinois University. Among their champions is Grow Your Own Illinois, the

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