HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Department of Education has announced that the second round of awards for the Accelerated Special Educator Certification Program will provide more than $1 million in funding to 14 postsecondary institutions, six of them returning and eight new, to expand accelerated certification programming to prospective special educators – helping Pennsylvania schools train more qualified special educators, faster.
Last month, the first 142 special educators trained under this program prepared to take jobs in Commonwealth classrooms.
“Pennsylvania’s educator workforce shortage will take flexibility, innovation and creativity to solve, and initiatives like the Accelerated Special Educator Certification Program demonstrate how thinking outside of the box can produce critical and much-needed results for the Commonwealth,” said Acting Secretary of Education Dr. Carrie Rowe. “Between the 142 new special educators poised to enter classrooms across Pennsylvania and the hundreds of additional individuals who will also take advantage of this opportunity, we are making real and meaningful progress toward getting more high-quality educators in our schools.”
Grant funding has been awarded to Alvernia University, $99,646; Carlow University, $100,000; Delaware Valley University, $99,161; DeSales University, $100,000; East Stroudsburg University, $50,000; Gannon University, $50,000; Indiana University of Pennsylvania, $99,330; Lincoln University, $50,000; Messiah University, $74,895; Millersville University, $50,000; Moravian University, $50,000; Point Park University, $100,000; Robert Morris University, $99,975; and University of Pittsburgh, $50,000.
Under the program, grants are made available to colleges and universities with approved PK-12 special education certification programs to partner with at least one school district, approved private school, career and technical center, charter school, cyber charter school or intermediate unit to provide individuals who hold bachelor’s degrees with summer field experiences, mentoring and coaching by experienced special educators during the school year and deliver a post-baccalaureate program for PK-12 special education teacher certification within 18 months. Programs are to provide a combination of in-person and virtual options for flexibility and support to the accelerated program participants working full time and ensure a minimum of 12 weeks of student teaching.
This initiative builds on the Gov. Josh Shapiro’s efforts to recruit and retain teachers in Pennsylvania, as it works collaboratively with leaders in the education field to ensure there is a robust pipeline of educators in place to provide a high-quality education to learners of all ages across the Commonwealth.
Other efforts include: reducing teacher certification processing times by more than 10 weeks, making intern certificates free to aspiring educators, creating a new Career and Technical Education program in Education for high school students and creating and expanding the student teacher support program to provide a stipend to student teachers.
As of the 2023-2024 school year, Pennsylvania’s teacher workforce stands at 123,190 educators, with the largest shortages in grades 4-8, special education PK-12, mathematics 7-12, life & physical sciences 7-12, and career and technical education 7-12. The United States Department of Education has designated these areas as critical shortages, and currently, Pennsylvania needs 1,670 special educators.
For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Education, readers may visit the department’s website .
