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Eligible applicants for GAST include universities and community colleges offering agricultural education teacher preparation programs. The purpose of this grant is to recruit, develop, and retain agricultural education teachers. For more information on GAST, explore the resources found below!

• GAST Quick Facts
  
• GAST Frequently Asked ​​

Eligible applicants for the Incentive Funding Grant (IFG) include public school districts and area career centers with approved high school and/or middle school AFNR programs. The purpose of this grant is to incentivize achievement while supporting local programs. Funds from this program should not supplant local resources. For more information , explore the resources below!

• IFG Quick Facts
  
• IFG Frequently Asked​
  
• IFG Planning Guide
  
• FY23 IFG Quality Indicators Preview​
  

To be eligible for Incentive Funding, new programs must meet the actionable requirements outlined in the documents linked below. New programs that offer AFNR programming for high school only or a combination of high school and middle school courses must meet the requirements outlined in the "New Program MOU."​ A separate set of requirements are outlined in the "New Middle School Program MOU" for those AFNR programs in grades 5-8.

• New Program MOU​
• New Middle School Program MOU​​​
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Eligible Applicants include approved AFNR teacher preparation programs in Illinois. The purpose of this grant is to incentivize achievement and support teacher preparation programs.

Eligible applicants are public community colleges and universities that offer an agricultural program of study. For purposes of this grant, an "agricultural program of study" is one that offers a series of courses in agriculture, foods or natural resources that may be transferred to other universities or enables a student to pursue either a minor or major concentration in one of those areas of study. The purpose of this grant is to facilitate and coordinate agricultural education programs offered in public elementary and secondary schools in Illinois.​ For more information, please consult the resources below!

• ​FCAE Quick Facts​
• FCAE Frequently Asked​​
  

Illinois school districts and area career centers created pursuant to Section 10-22.31a of the School Code that employ full-time middle or secondary school teachers in a state-approvable agricultural education program as defined by Section 75.210 are eligible to apply. Approvable middle school programs also are eligible to apply. An approvable program at the middle school level includes at least one state-approved introductory agricultural education course with an appropriately licensed teacher in an agricultural education career pathway that connects to a secondary program. This introductory course shall include a career exploration component with Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE) as a part of instruction. A middle school program shall also connect either to a stand-alone middle school or a secondary student organization (FFA) chapter. The purpose of this grant is to support personal service costs of teachers' time spent outside the regularly scheduled teaching duties in order to expand and improve their ability to carry out activities based on the Three Circle Model of Agricultural Education. For more information , explore the resources below!

• Payment Verification Letter Signature Page​
  
• Three Circles Quick Facts​
• Three Circles Frequently Asked
• District Salary Match Worksheet
  

An eligible applicant for the Agricultural Education Pre-Service Teacher Internship Program Grant shall be a partnership consisting of:

1. one or more educational entities serving elementary and secondary schools, including, but not limited to, school districts, private schools, or Regional Offices of Education or one or more community-based organizations that provide agricultural education programs or related services, such as technical assistance or professional development, to agricultural education programs and practitioners; and
2. one or more postsecondary institutions that offer postsecondary credit-bearing internship programs.

The goal of the Agricultural Education Pre-Service Teacher Internship Program is to address the shortages experienced by middle school and secondary agricultural education programs in this State by contributing to a highly qualified and effective agricultural education candidate pool that is sufficient in size to meet the workforce need.​