​Aspiring to Educate

Since 2013, the number of people seeking teaching certification has shrunk by more than 65 percent. In addition, while Pennsylvania has more than 120,000 teachers, 96% are white, making the state's educator workforce the least diverse in the country.

In an effort to address both the diminishing interest in the teaching profession and diversity in the educator workforce, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is piloting the Aspiring to Educate program – which is the first of its kind in the nation – in key regions of the state.

The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) will spearhead this pilot program to cultivate and diversify the city's educator pool.

The pilot is a partnership between the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), SDP, the Community College of Philadelphia, and Cheyney, West Chester, Temple, Drexel, Arcadia and Cabrini universities, and local education and youth organizations.