Grow Your Own Program

Circle with the words Grow Your Own & We see you with a tree made of hands

Are you a David Douglas student, employee, or community member interested in becoming a teacher, school counselor, school psychologist, or school social worker? Click here to schedule a meeting with our district’s Grow Your Own Program Pathway Navigator.

GYO Program Assistance & Support

The David Douglas GYO program offers individualized navigation support to district students, employees, and/or community members who are interested in pursuing a degree in teaching, school counseling, school psychology, or school social work. We connect with and support ALL applicants on their educational pathway. We PRIORITIZE assistance for applicants who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) and/or who speak a language other than English. Why? See our program purpose below.

GYO Program Purpose

The David Douglas School District is among the most broadly diverse in Oregon. We are 64% students of color, including Latinx, Asian, Black, Indigenous, and students who identify as multiracial. Our students speak dozens of different languages from across the world.  Diversity is arguably our greatest strength as a school district.

But when we talk about our amazing diversity, we are talking mainly about our students and their families. Only 16% of licensed staff, 27% of classified staff, and 21% of administrators identify as non-White. Though it is slowly growing year after year, our staff diversity does not align with our families.

For the sake of our students, our families and our staff, this needs to change. Research is clear that students benefit when educators better reflect their own demographics. Our GYO program is one step toward that end.

Staff of Color Freedom Dream #3: We want to build a district culture that is unapologetic about hiring staff of color to increase representation of our student population.

GYO Educational Pathways

Do you have a High School diploma or GED? Click above to see our High School pathway.

Do you have some college credit or an Associate’s Degree? Click above to see our Associate’s pathway.

Do you have a Bachelor’s Degree? Click above to see our Bachelor’s pathway.

GYO News

A Summer of Building Pathways

An image David Douglas GYO Summer Interns

The GYO program was in full swing this summer, building pathways for our brilliant David Douglas students to become our future educators! The GYO Summer Internship aims to SUPPORT and INSPIRE Douglas graduates to join the educator workforce through a combination of coursework, job experience, and mentorship. Below are some 2025 summer highlights:

  • The GYO program hired 10 interns to work at the Menlo Park Summer School hub. All GYO Summer Interns Douglas students who identified as BIPOC; the majority of them were also multilingual.
  • All interns received professional development prior to working with summer school students, including on the Science of Reading. They also took a PCC education class for college credit thanks to our partnership with Multnomah Grow Your Own.
  • Each intern worked alongside a cooperating teacher, who guided them to provide academic support and lead enrichment activities for summer school students. Interns appreciated the mentorship they received from experienced educators and were able to add their cooperating teachers as references to their resumes. 
  • Two of our GYO Summer Interns were hired as permanent district employees. See their testimony at the September DDSD school board meeting on the benefits of the GYO Summer Internship program (timestamp 1:50:34 – 2:07:31).

GYO College Partners for a Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching

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George Fox University Logo
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Warner Pacific University Logo
Portland State University Logo
Portland State University Logo

GYO College Partners for a Masters Degree in Teaching OR Licensure & Endorsement ONLY

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George Fox University Logo
Pacific University Logo
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  • Master of Art in Teaching Elementary or Secondary Education
  • Evening online classes
  • Program Website, includes admissions requirements
  • If you already hold an Oregon teaching license, you can add an endorsement in Special Education through an online program
  • Contact Dr. Kevin Spooner (kespooner@warnerpacific.edu)
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GYO College Partners for a Masters Degree in School Counseling

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