Philadelphia City Council allocates $500,000 to help CTE teachers earn certification

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Philadelphia City Council is allocating $500,000 from the school district’s budget to pay for teacher certifications for the Philadelphia School District’s Career Technical Education program.

Philadelphia has approximately 5,000 students enrolled in 43 career and technical education programs, giving hands-on education and training in fields ranging from culinary, autobody repair, education and information technology, often earning students industry-recognized credentials in addition to a high school diploma.

The teachers are former professionals who worked in their respective industries and decided to switch to a career in education. Previously, they had to pay out of pocket for the classes needed for teacher certification.

The money will cover the roughly $2,600 per class tuition at certification schools, like Temple University.

“I think it’s an incredible incentive to not just lighten the burden for current teachers, but to entice more industry professionals to … make that transition into education,” said Jessica Lawyer, who teaches culinary arts at Thomas Edison High School.

Lawyer said she’s three classes short of her Master’s degree, and the money will help her complete her degree.

Philadelphia is the only school district in the region that does not cover the cost of teacher certification and has been losing educators to suburban districts that offer higher pay and financial support for completing certification requirements.

Council Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson championed the program and said she is hoping for more help in future budget years. She said the $500,000 is a start, but not enough to get every teacher certified.

There are about 160 teachers working on emergency certification, according to Superintendent Tony Watlington, and a shortage of CTE teachers has resulted in larger class sizes. It’s unclear how far the money would go because the educators are all at different points in their certification.

“They have an emergency license for one year and have to get that certification by paying out of pocket. This does nothing but help us to  attack that declining teacher pipeline,” Watlington said.

Watlington said nationally, there is a decline in students who want to go to a public or private university.