Pam Althoff

End of Session Review

Rewarding Failure

Similarly, the budget continues to fund the failed “Grow Your Own Teachers” program – a well-intentioned effort to encourage parents in low-income areas to return to college and pursue a degree in education. But, as laudable as the goal might be, the record has been one of near-complete failure.

That program has spent $20.2 million since it began in Fiscal Year 2006, but has produced only 64 persons who graduated and went on to teach in Illinois schools. That’s a per teacher cost of $314,000.

For comparison purposes, Yale University currently places the cost of a four-year education, including all tuition and fees, at about $234,000.

Despite the failures, the program was allocated another $1.5 million in taxpayer dollars for the coming year.