School administrators discuss Pa.'s teacher shortage, working to add to educator ranks

Not so long ago, Hampton School District Superintendent Michael Loughead wasn't concerned about the pool of teacher candidates when it came time to fill a spot.

"We have a successful district, we pay our teachers well, and at one time we were lucky enough to have 1,000 people apply for a second-grade teaching position," Loughead said. "I think we were lulled into a false sense of security."

In the early 2000s, state education officials were offering attractive retirement packages in order to make room for younger teachers to enter the workforce. But over the past two decades, that course has reversed, with school districts seeing smaller and smaller pools of candidates applying for teaching jobs.

"Someone who gets a degree in computer science can make more money going to private industry than they can becoming a public school teacher," said Bob Scherrer, director of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.

In the face of workforce change, school district leaders have worked to boost both communication and cooperation. Schools are sharing resources and concepts in an effort to raise interest in public education.

Loughead and Scherrer were among more than a dozen panelists taking part in the Western Pennsylvania Education Leadership Forum, a conference of school administrators held last week at Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood.

The Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center in New Stanton has a program called Aspiring Educators , which brings college-level education courses to high schoolers in an effort to help them get through post-secondary education faster and deepen the pool of teachers available to work. It is one of four such programs certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

"If students in that cohort are strategic in how they schedule their courses, they can potentially leave high school as a college sophomore," said Mt. Pleasant Area School District Assistant Superintendent Beth Hutson. "We want students to hear from CTC teachers, we want them to hear from phys ed teachers — we want to show them the widest range of possibilities and experiences."

In the Keystone Oaks School District, teacher Emily Brill is also the coordinator for the Educators Rising program, created by a national nonprofit of the same name that offers a curriculum with a similar goal: get students interested in education and, more importantly, get them real experience in a classroom.

"I've talked to former students who spent four years pursuing an education degree, only to find out that they couldn't make it past student teaching," Brill said. "Maybe they were in the wrong area or the wrong subject, but four years in is not when you want to discover that maybe teaching isn't for you."

Southmoreland Assistant Superintendent Dan Clara said his district has partnered with the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg on a program that brings interested students into regular contact with education majors while earning potential college credits.

"It's important for us to be in front of them, because maybe that leads them to want to substitute-teach with us and stay in the district," he said. "I was hoping to get eight kids, and we got 15 this year. And through our agreement with UPG, our students do not pay for those credits."

Although the Aspiring Educators program is offered through Central Westmoreland, the program's classes take place at Mt. Pleasant Area, with students from Belle Vernon, Yough and Southmoreland bused to the school.

"Once upon a time, we as school districts were very insular," Clara said. "Now we're saying, 'Hey, Franklin Regional has this great program, how we can get our kids involved in that?' "

Franklin Regional Superintendent Gennaro Piraino agreed, despite some logistical hurdles such as transportation and cost.

"We're working on a health care academy at FR, and once it's developed, we may bring in students from other districts. Kiski Area may develop a great program in a different field, or Burrell may. And if we're all sharing students, we'll figure the finances out," he said. "Because to say to a student, 'Well, you can't pursue that career field because of your ZIP code,' that's (ridiculous)."

A pathway for adult learners

The forum's second panel focused on creating a path for adult students to make their way into teaching certification, and to retain existing teachers.

At Westmoreland County Community College, 166 of the school's 2,715 students take part in its early childhood education program, and 101 of them are interested in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade.

"We've embraced education that is flexible, and we look at prior learning as well," said WCCC Dean of Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Public Service Andrew Barnette.

At Point Park University, former Allegheny Intermediate Unit director and current associate professor Linda Hippert touted the school's educator residency program, which creates an easier path for school district para-educators to gain the skills and certification necessary to become a teacher.

"Hiring para-educators is not easy, either," Hippert said. "So to have a para who may be interested in continuing on to get their teacher certification is a real advantage. I think that model is going to produce excellent teachers."

Alan Hack, assistant executive director for the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, said he has three para-educators from his territory taking part in Point Park's program.

"They can get some of that work done during the day, but they're also gaining experience through working directly with Point Park faculty and students," Hack said. "We also think our para-educators are often more reflective of our community than our teaching staff. So creating a path for them to get certified to teach within two years is a big advantage."

Other panelists also advocated for diversifying teaching staff to better reflect the increasing diversity among students.

At Hampton, the district has created a support cohort among teachers of color.

"I'm a white Gen-Xer. What do I know about supporting teachers of color?" Loughead said. "Their colleagues know, they've lived that experience, and I think that's a big part of retaining those teachers. Because, frankly, it can be rough in Southwestern Pennsylvania for that group of educators."

Community colleges, Barnette said, generally reflect more diversity than the communities in which they're located.

"We've had to look at ourselves," he said. "For the past five years, I've attended the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education, and have been able to bring some of what I've learned back to WCCC."

Brill said one of the most important aspects of both recruiting students and providing a path for adult learners is a leader who's passionate about making it happen.

"You need a teacher who can push students along and help them discover the field of education," she said. "I teach childhood development, so it was a natural fit, but Gateway's program started with a social studies teacher who was really driven to make it succeed."

Clara said the ideas bouncing around the room at the forum have him optimistic.

"I can't say all the kids taking the course right now will be teachers," he said. "But if we got a couple who come back and apply because they know our system from their experience, that's a good return on investment."