A state program that debuted this week offering five-figure stipends to student teachers was so popular that it ran out of money almost immediately after its launch, officials said.
The Pennsylvania Student Teacher Support Program opened Thursday and received more than 3,500 applicants within the first hour for the $10,000 or $15,000 stipends for the 2024-25 school year.
“We knew that the Student Teacher Support Program would be an incredible success, but this shatters all expectations,” said Aaron Chapin, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. “[The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency] literally ran out of stipends less than an hour after the application process opened. That is incredible.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro earmarked $10 million in last year’s budget to support the program with bipartisan support. Because of the limited funds, only about 750 of the applicants will receive the stipends, which were distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The governor said he wants to increase funding for the program to $15 million in the next state budget.
“As Gov. Shapiro has made clear, this is a commonsense, critically important initiative with broad bipartisan support — and it is positive to see such high demand for it,” said Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for the governor’s office. “The Shapiro administration looks forward to having further conversations with leaders in both parties about how to deliver a needed increase in this grant funding as we work to continue building our teacher workforce and delivering the resources Pennsylvania students and families need.”
The support program is intended to help correct Pennsylvania’s teacher shortage by addressing the financial strain caused by student teaching requirements. Pennsylvania and many other states across the nation have experienced a shortage of teachers in recent years as many educators have left the field and fewer have entered it.
According to the state, Pennsylvania regularly certified 20,000 new teachers annually up until 10 years ago. In 2023, the state certified just 5,000 new teachers.
There are currently 5,500 teacher vacancies in the state, according to the governor’s office.
The support program provides student teachers with $10,000 stipends for their 12-week placements starting in the 2024-25 school year. Student teachers in high-need areas will qualify for an additional $5,000.
Student teachers must be enrolled in an approved state Department of Education Educator Preparation Program at a higher education institution in the commonwealth and must commit to working as teachers in Pennsylvania for at least three years after completing their studies in order to qualify for the program.
“This program will be life-changing for student teachers in Pennsylvania,” Chapin said. “We should make sure that every single student teacher who needs a stipend can get one. That means we need to fund this program at $75 million in 2024-25 so that no student teacher is left out.”
Andrew writes about education and more for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at agoldstein@unionprogress.com.