PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A coalition has formed to address the city’s teacher shortage, with a particular goal of increasing the number of teachers of color to serve the school district’s diverse student population.
Stacy Holland, executive director of the nonprofit Elevate 215, which is leading the coalition, says the Philadelphia Citywide Talent Coalition has two goals:
1. Recruit more teachers to fill some 2,000 vacancies in the city’s district and charter schools.
2. Retain more teachers to reduce that vacancy rate. Teachers often leave the profession within the first five years.
Holland puts special emphasis on attracting and keeping teachers who more closely resemble the student body.
“Studies tell us that young people who have a person who looks like them will actually do better: academic outcomes, graduation rates, college-going rates, college completion rates.”
Superintendent Tony Watlington says the School District of Philadelphia has made strides in attracting and retaining teachers, including a modest increase in Black and Latino teachers, but he says it is caught in a national and statewide trend.
“There’s been a 50% reduction in the number of younger, or older, people who decide to go to college to become a teacher. Here in our Commonwealth that reduction is 71%. This is a major, major issue.”
Among the group’s strategies:
— Early recruitment of high school students
— Teacher residency program
— Teacher apprentice program
— Affinity networks for teachers from underrepresented groups
Teacher Fatym Byrd says his experience shows the strategies are effective.
“Teachers who once considered leaving the profession have found renewed purpose and community. They stay, they lead, they inspire the next generation.”
The coalition is directing teachers to the website teachphl.org, where they can apply.