Written by Gavin Mitsdarfer
I knew from an early age that someday I would be a teacher.
Throughout my childhood, teachers were always there for me, giving me the safe spaces I needed. When I faced bullying as a young high school student and the loss of my father after my first year of middle school, I would find my choir teacher, who would let me sit in a practice room and reset.
As a teacher, I want my classroom to feel like home and a safe space for all my students.
Right now, I am learning what it is like to be at the front of the class as I complete my 15-week, full-time student teaching placement, split between Harborcreek School District and the School District of the City of Erie.
Student teaching has been an incredible experience for me. It is giving me the opportunity to find my “teacher voice” as I connect the theory I have learned as a student at PennWest Edinboro with practice in two living, breathing classrooms – one in 8th grade English Language Arts and one in K-1 Life Skills.
Full-time student teaching is required to complete a teacher preparation program in Pennsylvania, but for a long time, it has been unpaid. That created a major barrier for many who want to enter the profession but rely on an often minimum wage paycheck to survive.
Some people still hold the idea that aspiring teachers can simply be supported by their parents during this time. That belief is as old-fashioned as unpaid internships. In my own case, I am working two jobs on campus just to afford groceries, gas, and utilities while also being tasked with assisting my single mother at home.
Thankfully, I will be paid for the work I am doing in my student teaching placements. And I am not alone. Thousands of student teachers are being compensated for their work, thanks to Pennsylvania’s new Student Teacher Support Program.
This bipartisan initiative, now in its second year, provides $10,000 stipends to student teachers working under the supervision of experienced educators. To be eligible, students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 and commit to working as teachers within Pennsylvania for at least three years after graduation. It is a win-win for student teachers and for Pennsylvania.
Many college students, like me, hold down evening and weekend jobs to support themselves. But, for decades, education majors were expected to quit their jobs and go without any income during their full-time student teaching experiences. That mindset fails to acknowledge the reality of being a college student in today’s everchanging economy.
It is also out of step with other college majors. Every year, college students intern with thousands of businesses and government agencies — and get paid for their work. No one questions that practice. Why should student teachers be any different? We don’t want a handout. We want to be paid for our work.
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This is why many of my fellow aspiring educators came together a few years ago to advocate for the creation of the Student Teacher Support Program. We went to our union, and we went to the Capitol to make this happen.
This program removes a major hurdle to entering the education profession while also creating an incentive for young, diverse, newly certified teachers to teach in Pennsylvania’s classrooms.
Unfortunately, not every student teacher is getting a stipend this year. Due to funding limits, only 4,199 of the 7,793 student teachers who applied for stipends in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years were able to receive them, according to Spotlight PA. I am one of the lucky ones, but I know others who weren’t.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, to his credit, is proposing to increase funding for stipends from $30 million to $35 million in the 2026-27 school year. This will open the door for even more student teachers to be paid for their work. We should keep this momentum going.
I hope to see a day soon when the state provides enough funding so that every eligible student teacher can receive a stipend. We are definitely on the right track.
I am thankful for the student teacher stipend I will be receiving from my district in a couple of weeks. It will help me pay for the daily costs of my 30-mile commute, which is on track to exceed $1,500 by the end of my extended 15-week program, as the cost of gas continues to rise. That means I won’t have to choose between food, fuel, and supplies for my students to learn, especially being in a school that is inequitably funded.
On April 16, applications open for student teacher stipends in the 2026-27 school year. We owe it to the future generations of Pennsylvania educators to make sure they are paid for the work they do as student teachers.
I want every aspiring educator to benefit from a student teaching experience like I am without having to worry how they are going to fill up their gas tank or put food on the table when the day is done.
Gavin Mitsdarfer is a Secondary Education English and Special Education PreK-12 major at PennWest Edinboro and a member of the Student PSEA State Executive Board and NEA Advisory Committee of Aspiring Educators.
