Saint Vincent College, Westmoreland Intermediate Unit to host career expo for aspiring teachers

After hosting an educator career fair last spring, Saint Vincent College and the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit knew they needed to take a different approach.

“I think we both recognized the need to try to target a couple of different audiences,” said Tracy McNelly, chair of the college’s education department, “because there’s a teacher shortage that has been happening for a while across Pennsylvania.”

That’s why their Aspire to Teach Expo is tailored to recent college graduates and workers from non-education fields who are interested in a career change.

Slated for 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the college, the expo will connect recent graduates with local school districts.

But those with a bachelor’s degree in another field can learn from Saint Vincent officials about alternative teacher certification options.

State sees shortage in educators

Nearly 2,500 teaching positions were vacant across Pennsylvania as of October — about 400 more than the previous year, according to data released by the state.

A December 2023 amendment to the school code enabled the state Department of Education to collect and release teacher vacancy data for the first time. The October 2023 report revealed 2,156 vacant teaching positions.

Schools in and around Philadelphia bear the brunt of the shortages.

Between vacancies and educators working on emergency certificates, Philadelphia County is in need of more than 2,000 teachers, according to a February 2024 report by the PA Needs Teachers coalition.

Westmoreland County needs 30 more teachers, the report said.

There are nearly 30 education students in Saint Vincent’s 2025 class, McNelly said — about five to eight students fewer than in 2019. But the incoming class of freshman has about 40 aspiring educators.

Kiski Area has not left any teaching positions unfilled in the 25 years Superintendent Jason Lohr has worked in the district.

“We’re still running operations,” Lohr said, “but we still have teachers that have to cover other classes.”

The district has seen a decline in its supply of substitute teachers across the past six years, Lohr said. And job postings that used to draw 70 to 100 applicants sometimes see just 12 to 20 today.

“It’s getting more and more challenging each year to get candidates,” Lohr said. He said special education, science and math positions prove particularly difficult to fill. “There just aren’t the numbers.”

Alternative certificate options available

But Kiski Area has found success in hiring emergency-certified substitute teachers, Lohr said.

“They’ve worked out really well. They really want to be there,” he said. “They want to dip their toe in the water and see what teaching is all about.”

An associate professor of education, McNelly has noticed the same.

“I’ve worked with a couple of teachers who were doing kind of the alternate routes, who’ve come from business and industry, and they’re phenomenal students,” McNelly said.

“And those who are working on emergency certifications in the school district are phenomenal teachers,” she said, “because they have such a rich content knowledge from business or industry, and they’re picking up all of those other skills — the teaching instructional strategies and the pedagogical skills that they need.”

Saint Vincent offers a post-baccalaureate teaching program, McNelly said, and some local districts offer graduate fellowships — paying for the aspiring teacher’s certification in exchange for working at the school after.

Those who receive an emergency certification from the state Department of Education can also pursue a teaching certificate while earning an income in the classroom, McNelly said.

School districts can request emergency certificates from the department. The candidate must have a bachelor’s degree in any field to receive the temporary certification.

“We try to take a look at the individual, what their needs are, what requirements they’ve already met,” McNelly said, “and we try to give them the simplest pathway to certification.”

The expo will be held at Saint Vincent’s Fred Rogers Center. Registration is not required, but registrants will have a chance to win a gift card. To register, visit events.wiu7.org.

District officials from Greater Latrobe, Greensburg Salem, Kiski Area, Ligonier Valley, Mount Pleasant, New Kensington-Arnold, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland and Yough will be available to meet with prospective teachers.

Informational sessions are scheduled for 4:30 and 5 p.m. Breakout sessions addressing alternative teacher certification options will be held at 5:30, 6 and 6:30 p.m.