When I first met Louis, an 8th grade student teacher at my school, he was juggling more than writing lesson plans and learning classroom management. Like so many aspiring educators in Pennsylvania, he was also balancing bills, debt, and a part-time job at a restaurant that kept him working late into the night.
Louis had dreamed of becoming a teacher since high school. When it came time for his student teaching semester, a full-time, unpaid commitment required for certification, his financial reality, including buying groceries and paying for childcare, interrupted that dream. This isn’t just Louis’s story. It’s the story of far too many future teachers across Pennsylvania and it’s why we urgently need to fully fund the Pennsylvania Student Teacher Support Program.
Pennsylvania’s teacher shortage is already critical. We used to certify 15,000 teachers per year; now, that number has plummeted to around 4,700. In Philadelphia alone, over 3,500 additional qualified teachers are needed.
The Student Teacher Stipend Program was launched last fall to remove one of the biggest financial barriers to entering the teaching profession: the unpaid student teaching requirement. The program provides eligible student teachers with $10,000 stipends while they complete their placements, in return for a commitment to teach in Pennsylvania for at least three years. It’s a smart investment not only in individuals like Louis, but in the health of our public education system as a whole. At a time when districts across the state are grappling with vacancies, we cannot afford to lose talented future educators simply because they can’t afford to finish their training.
The solution is clear: In the upcoming state budget which will be passed this summer, Pennsylvania must fully fund the Student Teacher Support Program at $50-$55 million, enough to cover every eligible student teacher. This month, a coalition of 60 organizations, including Teach Plus PA, sent a letter to Governor Shapiro urging full funding.
But demand for the program has far outpaced funding. More than 4,000 applications were submitted for the 2024–25 school year, yet only about half of eligible student teachers are receiving stipends. This is leaving hundreds of aspiring teachers, like Louis, to struggle.
Fully funding this program isn’t just about fairness. It’s about protecting the quality of education for all Pennsylvania students. The student teacher stipend allows future educators to focus on learning classroom management, building content knowledge, and how to foster strong relationships with students. They enter the workforce better prepared, better supported, and more likely to stay in the profession. Our students deserve teachers who are able to focus on becoming great teachers so they can provide a strong foundation of learning.
READ: Pennsylvania’s Teacher Shortage Will Require Systemic Solutions, Report Says
For Louis, receiving a $10,000 stipend could have meant more time to focus on learning how to become a teacher and less time trying to make ends meet. As an instructional coach, I saw how this financial stress not only impacted Louis’ ability to enter his first day ready to meet the needs of his students, but also had a cascading effect on the veteran teachers around him. When teachers enter the classroom underprepared, their colleagues often step in to help manage student behavior, mentors have to provide additional support, and ultimately, these novice teachers are more likely to leave the profession, creating vacancies that place added strain on the school as a whole. A paid student teaching experience would allow incoming teachers to focus on becoming strong educators prior to leading their own classroom, which benefits not only their future students but the entire ecosystem of the school around them.
The first year of this program proved what’s possible when we invest in future educators. Now it’s time to ensure all student teachers have access to this funding.
Louis eventually found some financial relief through a loan forgiveness program after graduating. But the stress he endured during student teaching took a toll on his confidence and his early success as a teacher. On his first day in his own 7th grade science classroom, he told me he wished he had been able to focus solely on learning during student teaching, not on making ends meet.
Every student teacher deserves better. Every student in Pennsylvania deserves teachers who are trained, supported, and ready to lead. We must fully fund the Student Teacher Support Program.
