A new school year is about to start in Chester County, which has a growing teacher shortage crisis, but a new statewide program hopes to combat that, writes Kim Hudson for CBS News Philadelphia.
Christine Analraj, 16, is a rising senior at Phoenixville Area High School and she hopes to become a college professor one day. She is already teaching STEM lessons to younger students and has been preparing for her educational future through a class called Educators Rising.
“So, through Ed Rising, I’ve been able to kind of expand my network — both through meeting other educators and also expand my experience — through meeting with little kids.” Analraj said.
Phoenixville is one of almost two dozen schools across Pennsylvania to sign up for this program this year. The Pennsylvania State Education Association coordinates the program, in hopes of reversing the statewide teacher shortage, which has been increasing since 2012.
Another goal of Educators Rising is to bring more diversity to the workplace as well.
“We see some of our students that are in our schools,” Vice President Jeff Ney said. “They need to be able to look up to those educators that are in the schools that can identify more readily with them.”
The program has received a $750,000 grant from the National Education Association and plans to use the funds to bring Educators Rising to more schools.
Read more about Educators Rising’s goal of cultivating more teachers at CBS News Philadelphia.
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