Temple University’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) has formed an agreement with the School District of Philadelphia to help career and technical education (CTE) teachers earn their certifications. 

The agreement, which goes into effect this semester, enables current district CTE teachers seeking their certifications to receive city funding to pay for their tuition.  

“The school district is entering into an agreement with us to be able to develop programming that is flexible, accelerated and affordable,” said Monika Williams Shealey, dean of CEHD. 

“We’re excited about this initiative because it’s going to help us to move more quickly in implementing what we were already working on.” 

For instance, CEHD has implemented changes such as accelerating the timeframe that courses are offered at Temple’s Center for Professional Development in Career and Technical Education, which helps students earn their certifications faster. 

While other areas of teaching typically draw those who graduated from college intending to become educators, CTE programs recruit career changers who specialize in culinary arts, technical careers and construction trades.  

“CTE programs are relying heavily on those individuals who have had that specific training and want to leave that career and go into teaching,” Shealey said. 

To assist these career changers in becoming educators, CTE students can receive coaching and mentoring during their first year at Temple. 

“Many of these folks haven’t been in school for a very long time and for some of them college might be new for them to navigate,” Shealey said. 

“Our field resource associates are helping them not only navigate college but how to navigate being in this new role as a teacher—how to ensure that on day one they show up for their students and understanding that they are going to be learning the skills and knowledge along the way.” 

The agreement comes as there is a shortage of teachers that are being recruited and retained in pre-K through 12th-grade settings. This problem is exacerbated in areas like special education, science, technology, engineering and math, and CTE. 

Shealey highlighted some of the challenges in terms of retaining educators and getting them to stay beyond five years, which is when many teachers start to burn out. This problem is particularly exacerbated in urban school districts. Shealey says this is due to a myriad of factors, such as underresourced schools, leadership turnover, the implications of poverty and students having needs that extend beyond what teachers are able to manage. 

“All of those contribute to the conditions that make it challenging for teachers to stay,” she stated. 

According to Sheeley, teachers stay in places that are well-resourced, where there is stability in leadership, the teachers feel acknowledged, and there are mechanisms to support family and community engagement. “When all those pieces are put together, then you see teachers that stay in schools far longer than that three- to five-year mark that we start to see teachers burn out,” Shealey continued. 

“You can’t overlook the fact that teachers need to be paid what they are worth. I think all of those in combination contribute to our retention problems.” 

There are 30 students currently enrolled in Temple’s CTE program who are working on their Level I certifications. 

The newly offered tuition assistance is helping CTE teachers like Shenelle Lockhart, who is pursuing her Level II certification, which is a permanent teaching license. 

“I can guarantee that anyone who comes from industry, that financing is the biggest obstacle that we face. It gets stressful because there is a time constraint on when your emergency certification or Level I certification runs out and you must get those classes done in that time,” said Lockhart, a computer systems technology teacher at Kensington High School. 

Prior to receiving help with her tuition assistance, Lockhart was stressed by trying to figure out how to pay for her classes. She could only afford to enroll in one class at a time. 

“I’m really appreciative of the financial assistance I have received through the program,” Lockhart said. “It has enabled me to double up on my course load and earn the certification faster.”