A Research Report From EPIC

Examining Implementation of the West Michigan Teacher Collaborative: A Grow Your Own Initiative

May 2026

As schools across the country contend with persistent teacher shortages, Grow Your Own initiatives are becoming an increasingly popular approach for bolstering the educator workforce. Our new report highlights a community-based program which is showing early success in West Michigan. The focus: the West Michigan Teacher Collaborative (WMTC), a regional initiative designed to address teacher shortages by developing talent within local communities.

This report draws on 41 participant interviews, including teacher candidates, program leaders, and partners. The findings highlight both the potential and the complexity of building community-based teacher pipelines.

Key successes include:

• Support for WMTC’s mission and design provided a strong foundation for preparing and retaining high-quality educators in the region.
• Reduced financial barriers enabled WMTC candidates to pursue and complete their credentials.
• Teacher candidates benefited from a network of support spanning WMTC, GVSU, and their districts.
• Strong relationships within cohorts created additional layers of support and accountability among members.
• Responsive and consistent communication from WMTC leadership fostered trust and clarified expectations with candidates and partners.
• Initial program successes set the stage for ongoing improvements in the teacher pipeline.