The Pennsylvania Teacher Education Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education (CRSE) Initiative launched in 2022 with the support of the William Penn Foundation. Housed at Temple University’s College of Education and Human Development and in partnership with the Pennsylvania Educator Diversity Consortium (PEDC), the Initiative brings together Pennsylvania teacher educators in advancing CRSE across the education ecosystem. The Initiative is currently funded under a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education that focuses on increasing the number of diverse, highly qualified educators in Pennsylvania.
Program Description
The Pennsylvania Teacher Education CRSE Initiative, most frequently referred to as the CRSE communities of practice (COPs), brings together cohorts of teacher educators and preK-12 teachers and district leaders to collaborate, share resources and strategies, and strengthen CRSE in Pennsylvania. Members of the CRSE COPs- who represent a wide array of institutions of higher education, school districts, and intermediate units- convene monthly as they revise teacher preparation course to embed the Common Ground Cultural Awareness (formerly CRSE) Competencies, develop strategies for integrating the Competencies into all facets of teacher preparation, and enhance their pedagogical and leadership skills to become advocates for CRSE in their unique contexts.
Participant Eligibility
The communities of practice are closed cohorts that meet over the academic year. Teacher educators, preK-12 teachers, and building and district leaders are welcome to express interest in joining us for the 2025-26 academic year.
Project Outcomes
View the CRSE Repository, which houses examples of teacher preparation syllabi that have been revised to incorporate the CRSE Competencies, reflections documenting the syllabus revision process, course artifacts, and other projects, by visiting https://crserepository.paeddiversity.org/.
For More Information
If you are interested in joining a CRSE community of practice or would otherwise like to get involved, please contact Project Coordinator Luca Poxon at luca.poxon@temple.edu.