PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The School District of Philadelphia's nonprofit arm has stepped in to help teachers get certified in career and technical education.
Two years ago, the city provided $500,000 to pick up the tab so that 50 career education teachers could get their teaching credentials in fields such as manufacturing, welding or healthcare. But that money has run out.
Enter the nonprofit Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, which is now providing money to allow 20 teachers to continue their certification courses. At a news conference on Tuesday at Benjamin Franklin High School, Fund CEO Kathryn Epps said without the contribution, those teachers would have had to pay for their certifications out of pocket.
"Their enrollment was at risk,” she said, “so this $75,000 investment allows all of those teachers to stay enrolled in their current program and be able to get their certification at no cost."
City Council Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson said she has been working to keep the program going as well.
“It's my goal to work through our budget process again to receive additional recurring revenue for the continuance of this important program,” she said, “that ultimately helps our young people who will go into careers.”
