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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 ​​
  

The previous funding cycle for GAST funding was in 2022, and utilized the resources below:

• GAST Technical Assistance Session Recording​​​
  
• GAST FAQs​

GAST grantees are required to coordinate with their regionally assigned FCAE Program Advisor to complete an annual evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation is to improve the efficiency of GAST expenditures and increase the effectiveness of teacher recruitment, retention, and development efforts. All GAST evaluations should be complete by September 1 following the fiscal year evaluated. GAST grantees are also required to present their annual update and evaluation results to the Illinois Committee for Agricultural Education. For more information on GAST evaluations and expected timelines, browse the resources below.

• GAST Evaluation Timeline
• GAST Report Template Instructions
• University GAST Report Template
• Community College GAST Report Template​
  

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
  
• FY26 Quality Indicators Application​
  

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​​​​​
  

Public community colleges and universities that offer an agricultural program of study, Regional Offices of Education, Intermediate Service Centers, and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. 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. In FY 2023, three separate FCAE grants (Local Program Support, Work-based Learning, and Curricular Resource Management) will be awarded for a total of $1.387 million. Click to the view the documents below for more information.

• ​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!

• FY26 District Worksheet with Prorate Tab​
  
• Payment Verification Letter Signature Page​
  
• Three Circles Quick Facts​
• Three Circles Frequently Asked
• Understanding Three Circle Allocations​​​
  

The purpose of this grant is to address the educator shortages experienced by middle school and secondary agricultural education programs in Illinois. The internship is designed to develop a highly qualified and effective agricultural education candidate pool that is sufficient in size to meet the needs of Illinois schools. The intent is to provide a statewide internship program for preservice agricultural educators in Illinois that will strengthen the relationships among preservice teachers from all colleges and university agriculture teacher preparation programs, enhance preservice teachers’ agricultural content knowledge, and increase the integration of industry partnerships in agricultural education statewide programs. 

• FY 2025 RFP ​Pre-service Internship
  
• RFP Forms Agric​ultural Education Pre-service Internship​
  
• Technical Assistance Webinar​​