While more students are completing teacher-preparation courses in Pennsylvania each year, teacher shortages still persist, according to new data released by the group PA Needs Teachers.
The shortage can be attributed to an “increasingly unattractive value proposition” for teachers, said Laura Boyce, executive director of education support nonprofit Teach Plus, which is part of the PA Needs Teacher coalition. Pennsylvania has a high cost of college compared to other states, she said, and teacher pay is often less than that of other careers that require a bachelor’s degree.
From the 2018-19 school year to the 2022-23 school year, Allegheny, Butler and Indiana counties saw an increase in the number of students completing teacher-prep programs.
In the 2022-23 school year, Allegheny reported 337 students who completed teacher prep programs, Butler with 261 and Indiana with 184.
Beaver, Washington and Westmoreland counties saw decreases over those years: Beaver had 23 students in 2022-23, Washington decreased by 20 students to 304 and Westmoreland went from 111 students to 77.
“While we’re seeing some signs that the teacher pipeline is starting to rebound and grow, we are still not at the level where we’re producing enough completers to keep pace with the number of open positions or attrition rates of teachers,” Boyce said.
Building the pipeline
Slippery Rock University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania are in the top 10 institutions statewide — and the top in Western Pennsylvania — for producing certified teachers.
In the 2022-23 year, 261 people completed an education program at Slippery Rock and 184 did so at IUP, the study reported.
Nine of the 10 colleges identified as top producers — SRU, IUP, Penn State, West Chester, Kutztown, Millersville, Temple, Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg — are either state-owned or state-related. The 10th university, St. Joseph’s, is a private institution in Montgomery County.
“We know the public system tends to be more affordable on the whole, and these schools tend to be larger in general,” Boyce said.
Jim Preston is interim dean of SRU’s College of Education. He attributes regional partnerships with K-12 schools and classroom experience to prepare future educators.
“In addition to being responsive to the needs of schools in our region, we also anticipate those needs,” he said. “Our faculty and staff are active in statewide teacher education organizations as leaders and participants in conversations surrounding relevant issues.”
Among SRU students who completed an education program, 161 were prepared in early childhood education and 107 were prepared in special education.
At IUP, 78 were prepared in health and physical education and 51 were prepared in early childhood education. Edel Reilly, dean of IUP’s College of Education and Human Services, said the college’s existing early childhood education and early childhood/special education programs have increased admissions each year.
IUP has two new post-baccalaureate certificate programs, in math and family and consumer science, and one new post-master’s program in health and physical education, that add to the college’s program array, Reilly said.
IUP also has collaborated with local high schools and career and technology centers to build a pipeline of future educators, Reilly said.
Similar things happen at SRU, Preston said. SRU is growing pathways to teacher certification for students who already have a bachelor’s degree, such as apprenticeship or experience-based certificate pathways.
“The focus remains on high-quality preparation programs aligned with workforce needs,” he said. “Our goal is to meet future teachers where they are and provide clear, flexible pathways to success.
“We are partnering with school districts and career and technical centers that offer foundational coursework in teacher education to award college credit for learning that occurs prior to the start of students’ college careers.”
‘Great teachers come from all backgrounds’
Of the students that completed teacher prep programs in Allegheny County in 2023, 13% were students of color, the study reports. In 2018-19, that percentage was 8%.
Other counties saw slight increases during that time frame, but Allegheny maintained the highest percentage of teachers of color.
“We have a shortage of teachers of color,” Boyce said. “In Pennsylvania, 38% of the student body across K-12 are students of color, whereas the number of teachers of color is 8%. There’s a big mismatch.”
Boyce said teacher diversity benefits all students. Research indicates that increasing the number of teachers of color improves educational outcomes among all students.
SRU’s RockTEACH program partners with diverse schools in the region to introduce high school students to the teaching profession, and to SRU, Preston said.
“We believe that great teachers come from all backgrounds, and every student deserves to see themselves reflected in the classroom,” Preston said.