Officials from City Hall and the School District of Philadelphia, on Thursday, discussed what they are calling, a coordinated effort to solve the city's teacher shortage on Thursday afternoon.
School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington joined officials from throughout the city and state to detail an effort to "recruit, develop, and retain a diverse and effective educator workforce," according to a statement on the upcoming event.
Officials said that in Philadelphia, 200,000 students are served by over 12,000 teachers. Yet, each year, school officials said they struggle to fill around 2,000 vacancies and have a pool of too few candidates to fill demand.
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According to data from Penn State's Center for Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis there are currently about 5,000 teacher vacancies in the state.
Last year, Philadelphia lawmakers and leaders said they hoped a $10,000 stipend would help with a record staffing shortage in teachers across the state.
Now, to address these vacancies, officials said they are "strengthening the teacher pipeline, boosting retention, and ensuring Philadelphia schools have the educators needed to drive student success."
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The effort is something officials are calling TeachPHL.
“A world-class education system starts with a talented, dedicated, and diverse teacher workforce,” said Stacy Holland, executive director of the education focused nonprofit, Elevate 215. “In Philadelphia, collaboration across sectors is essential to ensuring every classroom has a teacher on day one. The Citywide Talent Coalition is uniting schools, higher education partners, and community organizations to fill vacancies and create lasting conditions that honor the teaching profession to attract and retain educators who are passionate about inspiring the next generation.”
Through this new effort, which officials called the Philadelphia Citywide Talent Coalition in a statement, over 35 organizations, including district and charter schools, education preparation programs, nonprofits, and city agencies, are set to work together to create a unified, research-driven approach to tackling the teacher shortage.
Elevate 215 serves as the coordinating entity.
According to a statement from officials, over the next five years, this coalition hopes to increase teacher diversity and boost teacher retention.
“A diverse pipeline of effective teachers is essential to ensuring students succeed," said Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes. "Philadelphia’s Talent Coalition is tackling the teacher shortage in ways that align with our state-level priorities. I will continue to advocate for programs that support student teachers, like the student teacher stipend program, on their path to certification.”
For more details on this new effort, visit the website for the citywide recruitment campaign at TeachPHL.org.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.
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