HARRISBURG — PSEA President Rich Askey today commended members of the Pennsylvania House Education Committee for approving legislation aimed at addressing the school staff shortage crisis in Pennsylvania by creating a new pathway for support professionals to earn teaching degrees.
The committee approved House Bill 141, which would create a “Grow Your Own” program to help paraprofessionals and other school support staff go back to college to earn their teaching credentials.
Askey emphasized that “Grow Your Own” programs will create new pathways to the teaching profession and open the door to great teachers who might otherwise never make their way to a classroom. Askey said that at the heart of the school staffing crisis is a decline in the number of college graduates entering education professions.