#PANeedsTeachers Thank Lawmakers for Critical Investments in Student Teacher Stipends, Call for Fully Funding the Initiative
Harrisburg, PA: Today, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed the 2024-25 state budget, which invested $20 million more into student teacher stipends on top of $10 million in last year’s budget for a combined $30 million for the first year of implementation. While this falls short of the estimated $45 million for full funding of the program, this year’s investment represents a 100% increase compared to last year and a 33% increase above what Governor Shapiro proposed – a significant win and a testament to the bipartisan support and strong political will we have helped build around this issue.
"We thank the legislature and the governor for doubling funding for student teacher stipends," said Laura Boyce, Pennsylvania Executive Director of Teach Plus and a leader with #PANeedsTeachers. "We have heard from student teachers and aspiring educators that we need to improve the value proposition for those who want to enter the profession. Without a stipend, it is too difficult for students to make ends meet when they begin their teaching careers. It forces students out of the profession, making it difficult to ensure our schools have enough high-quality teachers. A $10 million increase is significant, but we must keep fighting to fully fund the student-teacher stipend so that every future educator can receive a stipend."
Funding for Student Teacher Stipends Doubled in Win for Aspiring Educators
Last year, the legislature initiated and funded a student-teacher stipend program. It was a bipartisan success. Unfortunately, the demand far outpaced the funding, with approximately 4,000 student teachers applying for approximately 700 stipends.
"By fully funding the student-teacher stipend program, we will eliminate a significant barrier for many young people to enter the profession,” said Laura Boyce. “We're encouraged that there is broad, bipartisan support for student teacher stipends, and we will continue to work with stakeholders and partners in the legislature to fund the program fully in the future."
Lawmakers Fail to Fund Grow-Your-Own Programs, #PANeedsTeachers Will Continue to Promote Successful Efforts
In addition to funding student teacher stipends, #PANeedsTeachers advocated for a $10 million allocation in the 2024-25 state budget for the Education Talent Recruitment account to fund grow-your-own programs, as proposed by Governor Shapiro. Grow-your-own programs are programs that encourage prospective teachers from the local community, oftentimes high school students and paraprofessionals, to enter the profession through affordable pathways. This initiative did not make it into the 2024-25 budget, but #PANeedsTeachers will continue to work with schools and local communities to identify, highlight, and help replicate successful local programs through tools like the Solutions Playbook - a collection of over a dozen local solutions in place across the commonwealth addressing educator shortages.
“We are disappointed that the budget did not include funding for the commonwealth to support and replicate successful grow-your-own programs, where local school districts can provide training and education for their students to eventually enter the teaching profession in their district,” said Amy Morton, a system design specialist at NCEE and a leader with #PANeedsTeachers. “These programs are proven, and support from the commonwealth is critical to make sure districts can stand up programs and begin to produce teachers starting in high school. We will continue to advocate for these programs, and work with districts to build them even in the absence of commonwealth funding.”
#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, exploring 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, guided by the summit's discussion and findings. #PANeedsTeachers has also developed tools to track the severity of teacher shortages by county and state senate districts.
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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