Grow Your Own program pushing change makers to diversify education

DOVER, Del. – Grow Your Own is a program set out to make change makers.

Students are working to be the educator they didn’t see in the classroom growing up. “I feel like people who look like you in education, you can relate more to them. It’s more encouraging, it’s more inspiring,” said Lukas Alexis, a program member. 

The Grow Your Own Program runs under Pathways To Success striving for diversity. Program Coordinator Jacques Bowe Junior says this initiative strengthens the pipeline to get into the education field which is struggling to retain teachers. “There is a shortage when it comes to educators. This is our attempt to try to grow our own grassroots students and try to inspire them and educate them to become educators and to kind of change and the stand in the gap,” said Jacques Bowe Jr, Senior Program Coordinator of Pathways To Success.

Bowe Jr. says lack of funding and wage issues are also to blame. However, Lukas Alexis and Angel Keeton are on the path to make change given their own experience in the classroom. “Growing up to this day, I’ve still had zero black educators, so having seen no one that looked like me. I haven’t had no teachers that look like me, so I’m hoping to change that,” Alexis said. “I’m looking into the education field because I want to make a change. I don’t want to ever let anyone feel how I felt growing up throughout the school system. I just want everybody to be better and just to make a change,” said Angel Keeton. 

Bowe Jr. says this is the opportunity giving students the autonomy to be their own person even if they choose a different career path. “These students become authors of their own life story regardless if they don’t come in to education, we want them to know who they are, we want them to embrace it, and we want them to become change makers,” said Bowe Jr.

Pathways To Success has a 98% graduation rate and a 96% rate of college placement, military, or full time employment.

For more information about Pathways To Success head to their website.