By CREATE Staff
8/15/25
Program participants pose in a group shot behind a table

The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) has reorganized many of our community-serving programs into our newest center, CREATE, the Center for Reimagining Excellence, Access and Transformation in Education. We want to keep you informed about news, happenings, and highlights pertaining to CREATE programs and initiatives as well as those of our community partners, through regular news updates. Please reach out to us at create@temple.edu with any feedback, questions, or opportunities for collaboration and check out our website, currently in development, to learn more! 

HIGHLIGHTS FROM A BUSY, FANTASTIC SUMMER! 

Temple Education Scholars 

The Temple Education Scholars (TES) program recently held its End of Year Celebration for Cohort 7, honoring senior students from various schools across the Philadelphia area. This year, 11 students successfully completed the program, each earning 15 college credits toward their future coursework. 

Collectively, this group of scholars was awarded over $400,000 in scholarships and financial aid from colleges and universities nationwide. View the video recap of the End of Year Celebration on the CEHD YouTube channel.

Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math & Science 

49 First-Generation Students experienced a curated tour of New York City where they visited colleges and the Met, and saw Stranger Things on Broadway. This was 32 of our students' first time out of the city.  

Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math & Science partnered with 11 different university departments to expose our students to new career paths and hands-on STEM projects with Temple faculty and staff.  

Senator Sharif Street joined Upward Bound's Closing Ceremony, delivering a powerful keynote address to empower our students to be the drivers of their own education. 

Future Focus 

Future Focus is a career and workforce development summer program for middle school students, held on Temple's campus! The students spend six weeks learning about career opportunities, practicing career related skills and get hands-on in different career environments, all while being mentored by and engaging with current Temple students. 

This year, Future Focus hosted five high school student interns that expressed interest in becoming teachers. They trained and shadowed as classroom facilitators. For their capstone project, the high schoolers designed and organized a Career Carnival for the middle school students. The Carnival featured an overview of various career clusters, accompanied by fun and hands-on demonstrations to give the students a real life "feel" for the career.  

OPPORTUNITIES THAT CAN'T BE MISSED - PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! 

For Early Childhood Educators: Diversifying Early Education Leadership (DEEL) Fellowship 

The DEEL Fellowship strengthens leadership in Philadelphia's early childhood education (ECE) community by supporting mid-career professionals of color with graduate-level coursework, leadership coaching and project-based learning, as well as partnering with ECE organizations to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and expand access to leadership opportunities. 

We are seeking early childhood professionals to join our third cohort of Fellows starting fall 2025! 

  • Complete graduate courses at temple toward a certificate
  • Attend monthly seminars on ECE leadership topics
  • Receive individualized leadership coaching
  • Complete a DEI-focused project with a local ECE organization
  • Receive a $5,000 stipend 

Apply online.

For more information, visit education.temple.edu/create/deel or contact Emily Garcia at emily.garcia@temple.edu. 

PA State Budget Impasse - Learn the Latest  

Listen to the recording from the Aug. 7 #PANeedsTeachers Coalition call. 

Hear about the status of negotiations regarding the PA state budget, now eight weeks overdue, and implications for K-12 and higher education. Among many very vital items in the state budget is student teacher stipends - all on pause and under threat in Harrisburg at the moment. 

You can also view the slides shared during the call. 

Calling All Adovcates for Educators - Yes, That's You!!

PA Teachers Shaping Lives and Laws: A Teach Plus, PEDC, and #PANeedsTeachers Virtual Event with State Senator Carolyn Comitta 

Want to shape education policy related to addressing teacher shortages? #PANeedsTeachers coalition members, educators and advocates are invited to a virtual one-hour event where you will learn how to read legislative text and give feedback on an actual Grow-Your-Own proposed bill to the bill's sponsor, Senator Comitta. Please join us to raise your teacher voice on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 6:00-7:00 p.m. Register online.  

AWESOME NEWS! 

CEHD receives $459,499 grant from the William Penn Foundation for a two-year project in support of grandparents and other kinship caregivers and their families!  

Guiding Generations, also known as Project GG, is an intergenerational learning program designed for grandparents or other kinship caregivers raising children ages 5-8. Families join a supportive learning network of peers, mentors and leaders in the community. Enrolled families receive educational workshops, caregiver support, and opportunities to build social networks for grandparents, educational enrichment and social-emotional learning for their children, and respite trips and outings. Services are designed to empower second-time caregivers to be confident, informed, and effective partners in their children's learning and development. Temple students provide support by facilitating enrichment activities in both the adult and child learning environments. 

This project will be led by Courtney Poprik, associate director of family-based services within CREATE. It is a collaboration with North Philadelphia non-profit organization, The EARTHS. More information about family participant recruitment will be shared soon.