PENNSYLVANIA Number of certified teachers rising

A tough economy and admission requirement changes may be why.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- State education officials are encouraged by a healthy increase in the number of certified teachers but remain concerned about what they say is a significant number of provisional teachers with emergency certificates in districts that are struggling to fill vacancies.
The total number of educators certified, which also includes administrators, supervisors and specialists, increased from nearly 35,000 in 2001-02 to more than 42,000 in 2002-03, according to the Education Department's annual report on teacher supply and demand. The report was presented Thursday to the State Board of Education.
Frank Meehan, the state's acting deputy secretary for postsecondary and higher education, said the number of new teachers receiving so-called "Level I" certificates grew by roughly 23 percent to more than 12,800, "an absolutely amazing number."
The department has not determined exactly what fueled the increase, but Meehan speculated that among other reasons, college students might have thought that in a tough economy, they would have greater success finding a job in the teaching ranks than in the private sector.
"If you look back four years ago, the economics weren't so great," Meehan said. "Maybe these people have said ... 'I don't think as a mathematician I can get a job in a firm, and therefore I'll be a teacher."'
Another reason
Changes in admission requirements for teacher-preparation programs are likely another factor, Meehan said. In September 2002, the minimum grade-point average for admission increased from 2.6 to 2.8 under regulations that took effect the previous year, and more students might have been inclined to get into a program before the GPA requirement rose, he said.
The state issued 4,990 emergency certificates to teachers hired in districts that were unable to find fully certified teachers to fill vacancies in 2002-03, and more than half were for vacancies in Philadelphia's public schools, according to the report. The total number represents a slight decline from the previous year, Meehan said.
"It's still high. We want to go to zero, but I don't think we ever will," he said.
In 1999, the state attempted to remedy the problem by implementing an alternative certification program that allows midcareer professionals to receive teacher training without having to take four years of college education courses. Only three people have obtained certification through the program, Meehan said.
The Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, believes a better alternative route is the state's 34-year-old teacher intern certification program because it provides more training, said William Steinhart, PSEA's government relations specialist.
"We have an ongoing problem with a system of credentialing that relies strictly on a test and a year of 'intensive' supervision," he said.