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Harrisburg, PA – Today, on Teacher Appreciation Day, #PANeedsTeachers held a rally with teachers, student teachers, superintendents, lawmakers - including Sens. Vincent Hughes and Ryan Aument - and others to highlight the importance of student-teacher stipends and talk about ways to alleviate the teacher shortage in Pennsylvania. In the past decade, the number of certified teachers produced by Pennsylvania's education programs has fallen by 75%, and teacher turnover is at an all-time high. The state now issues more emergency certificates – granted to underprepared teachers when schools cannot find qualified teachers – than regular teaching certificates to fully-qualified teachers.
"Pennsylvania is in the midst of a dire teacher shortage crisis," said Laura Boyce, Pennsylvania Executive Director of Teach Plus and a leader with #PANeedsTeachers. "And we need solutions now. What are those solutions? First, we must fully fund student-teacher stipends at $75 million so that every single student-teacher can benefit from this life-changing program. Second, we must pass $10 million for grow-your-own programs in this year's state budget. We made progress last year, and we must keep investing in solutions so we can rebuild our teacher pipeline."
Pennsylvania is facing a teacher shortage crisis, which, if we don't act now, will threaten the academic success of current students and the prospects of future generations. This crisis doesn't just impact schools; it affects our broader workforce and Pennsylvania's economy at large. Fortunately, we have the tools to address this crisis.
Teacher attrition rates are at an all-time high of 7.7% – while rates for teachers of color are even higher. More than seventy percent of schools surveyed report that staffing shortages are a top concern and more than forty-five percent of rural schools struggle to fill teacher vacancies, according to a 2023 analysis by Dr. Richard Ingersoll and Henry Tran.
According to Dr. Ed Fuller, Pennsylvania needs at least 15,000 additional qualified teachers to fill current vacancies, fill positions being staffed by underprepared emergency-certified teachers, and replace teachers leaving the classroom. That doesn't include additional teachers to replace teachers who are leaving each year, or the additional positions districts could post if they receive potential historic increases to education funding in the wake of the school funding lawsuit and Basic Education Funding Commission, which could cause demand for teachers to skyrocket further.
Student Teacher Stipends
Student teacher stipends, as passed by the Pennsylvania legislature in 2023, are a critical tool for removing financial barriers for prospective teachers and attracting more aspiring educators to the profession. However, the program only works if it is fully funded and predictable, ensuring that every student teacher in Pennsylvania can count on the stipend. The legislature must invest $75 million in recurring funding to fully fund student-teacher stipends in the 2024-25 state budget.
"Student-teacher stipends will attract and retain more potential teachers towards programs that fully certify them before they are responsible for our children's education," said Angel Osorio Pizarro, a Teach Plus Fellow and Teacher. "We need to fully fund them though. The 4,500 applications submitted on the first day of the program launch show us that there is real need, and that need is more than $10 million - enough for 750 student teachers at most. We ask the legislature to pass $75 million to fully fund the student-teacher stipend program. Our Commonwealth's teacher shortage is not a shortage of bodies per se: there are plenty of student teachers in need, and more potential teachers who, like me, wanted to help the next generation unleash their brilliance but did not see how. By fully funding teacher stipends, we light their path forward."
"Being a student teacher takes a toll on future teachers - it's extremely difficult to balance the demands of the work while being unpaid," said Paige Batdor, a future student teacher from Millersville University. "I am in this phase of my teaching journey; I go to school two days a week, and I teach three days a week with no pay. To attend school, I must work to pay for gas, food, school bills, and other living expenses. I have been stretched thin, mentally and physically drained, trying to go to school, teach, and work two jobs just so I can accomplish my dreams of being a teacher. That is why funding student teachers is crucial for the success of future teachers."
Grow-Your-Own Programs
Grow-your-own programs, which create affordable pathways into teaching for high school students, paraprofessionals, and community members, are another critical tool to solve the teacher shortage crisis. An investment of $10 million in the 2024-25 state budget for grow-your-own programs, as proposed by Governor Shapiro, would enable us to leverage local talent and rebuild our educator pipeline from the ground up.
"Our Grow Your Own program at Millersville University recruits high school students to become educators," said Dr. Miriam Witmer, Millersville Education Faculty. "The Pathway includes in-school seminars, dual enrollment opportunities, mentoring, and a college residential experience. We need more funding to serve more students and to grow the educator pipeline in Pennsylvania. We need to fully fund the Student Teacher Stipend program and invest $10 million for grow-your-own funding included in this year's budget proposal."
#PANeedsTeachers, a statewide coalition led by Teach Plus and the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), has been leading efforts to alleviate the teacher shortage crisis. In 2022, they held a summit that brought together educators, experts, and advocates and explored the roots of the teacher shortage crisis and possible solutions. Following the summit, #PANeedsTeachers released a report on Pennsylvania's teacher shortage, #PANeedsTeachers: Addressing Pennsylvania's Teacher Shortage Crisis Through Systemic Solutions that was guided by the discussion and findings from the summit. The coalition successfully pushed for student teacher stipends and improved teacher workforce data collection in the 2023-24 state budget.
About Teach Plus and NCEE
Teach Plus: The mission of Teach Plus is to empower excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students' success. Since 2009, Teach Plus has developed thousands of teacher leaders across the country to exercise their leadership in shaping education policy and improving teaching and learning, to create an education system driven by access and excellence for all. For more information, www.teachplus.org.
NCEE: Since 1988, The National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) has been researching the world's best-performing education systems to give states and districts the tools they need to become world class. NCEE has been a leader in U.S. education from policy to practice, producing reports that have led to landmark national legislation, supporting states in redesigning their education systems, and providing rigorous, proven support to more education leaders than any other organization. NCEE's dedicated, diverse, and experienced staff are working with teachers, school leaders, district leadership teams, and state policymakers to create the highest-performing, most equitable systems of education in the world. For more information, visit www.ncee.org.
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