![\"North](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/STT-L-NORTHPOCONO-CAPST-0825-03.jpg\")
North Pocono students are welcomed to Moscow Elementary School for the first day of school Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\nNEPA\u2019s teaching needs<\/p>\n
Much of Northeastern Pennsylvania has already ushered in the new school year. But are there enough teachers to welcome students back to the classroom?<\/p>\n
The organization PA Needs Teachers \u2014 a coalition led by the advocacy groups Teacher Plus and the National Center on Education and the Economy \u2014 published a report earlier this month examining trends in Pennsylvania\u2019s education workforce. The report depicts a severe teacher shortage, with the number of new teacher certifications issued plummeting and teacher attrition rates rising over the last decade.<\/p>\n
Using statistics from the state Department of Education and a Pennsylvania State University analysis, the report examines this teacher shortage by county \u2014 and finds the shortage is having a particularly acute impact on Northeastern Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
PA Needs Teachers co-lead Emily Sagor said this eroding supply of teachers hurt school districts as they try to meet their unique needs. She noted that a shortage may grow class sizes, force teachers to lead additional classes, and have teachers assume extra administrative duties.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have open positions that stresses the whole community, because education is an ecosystem,\u201d Sagor said. \u201cWhen we don\u2019t have all of the people that we need for that ecosystem to run in a healthy way, it becomes very difficult for the individuals within it.\u201d<\/p>\n
This shortage of teachers could have a particularly deleterious effect on students. Sagor said failing to recruit educators who can develop experience in a school and familiarity with its students. The effect of a teacher shortage can worsen across students\u2019 time in school, creating a deficit that widens year after year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that the number-one in-school factor that determines how successful a student is going to be is their educator,\u201d Sagor said. \u201cSo, when we have a revolving door of educators, students don\u2019t have the consistency that they deserve to lead to the strong outcomes that they\u2019re capable of.\u201d<\/p>\n
North Pocono students are welcomed to Moscow Elementary School for the first day of school Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)
\nNEPA\u2019s teaching needs<\/p>\n
Given these effects on teachers and students, schools in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Schuylkill counties have some cause for alarm.<\/p>\n
The PA Needs Teacher report found Lackawanna County schools were short 106 qualified teachers creating a \u201chigh\u201d shortage level. One-hundred sixteen teacher certifications were issued in 2024, marking a 31% decline in certifications from a decade ago and rendering the county\u2019s total teacher supply \u201cvery low.\u201d<\/p>\n
This fall in teacher supply has corresponded with a fall in teacher qualifications. Ten percent of Lackawanna County teachers are now \u201cnovice teachers,\u201d with 6% on emergency teaching permits, earning the county a teacher-qualification ranking of \u201clow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Circumstances are similar in Luzerne County. The report determined Luzerne County has a shortage of 179 qualified teachers and has a \u201chigh\u201d shortage level. The 144 teacher certifications issued in 2024 mark a 33% decline over the last decade, with overall teacher supply given a designation of \u201cvery low.\u201d<\/p>\n
As was the case in Lackawanna County, a full 10% of Luzerne County teachers were deemed \u201cnovice teachers,\u201d with 6% on emergency permits, earning a marking qualification rating of \u201clow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schuylkill County, meanwhile, issued zero teacher certifications in 2024 and also had a \u201cvery low\u201d supply level. Thirteen percent of Schuylkill County teachers were novices, 8% were on emergency-certification plans, earning it a \u201clow\u201d teacher qualification rating as well.<\/p>\n
The teaching shortage in these counties comes alongside an alarming lack of diversity. Ninety-nine percent of teachers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Schuylkill counties are white, despite having populations where students of color account for 25%, 32%, and 21% of the student population, respectively.<\/p>\n
Sagor said the economic obstacles to launching a teaching career, such as the high cost of certification and low starting pay, is exacerbated for teachers of color owing to economic inequality.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know (financial barriers) disproportionately impact future educators of color and folks from low-income backgrounds,\u201d Sagor said. \u201cAnd this can be one of the factors leading to a lack of diversity in the profession.\u201d<\/p>\n
PA\u2019s progress<\/p>\n
Despite these negative trends, PA Needs Teachers maintains that there are reasons to be optimistic.<\/p>\n
Sagor noted there had been progress in directing more state investment towards teacher development with a bevy of new educator-support programs.<\/p>\n
In the 2024-25 school year, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency launched the state\u2019s Student Teacher Support Program to subsidize student-teacher assignments. Under this program, student teachers can collect a $10,000 stipend and mentors to student teachers can collect stipends as large as $2,500, with stipends awarded on a first come, first serve basis.\u00a0 The General Assembly increased funding for this program by a third in its 2026-27 state budget, allocating it a sum of $40 million.<\/p>\n
Sagor said the stipend provided critical support to student teachers, reducing outside financial stress as they work in student-teaching positions, which are typically unpaid.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis allows them to really focus on student teaching and learning what it means to be an excellent educator and being able to get that mentorship from other teachers,\u201d Sagor said. \u201cSomething you often hear from folks who aren\u2019t able to receive the stipend\u2026(is that) they are having to have other jobs outside of student teaching just to sustain themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sagor also cited the Grow PA Scholarship Grant Program\u00a0 \u2014 an initiative through which the PHEAA offers subsidies to college students pursuing careers in high-demand fields, including education. The Grow PA program offers these eligible students grants of $5,000 per year for a maximum of four years; and in exchange, students pledge to live and work in Pennsylvania in an in-demand field for a number of years equivalent to the number of years they received the grant. (Students who fail to satisfy the in-state residency and work requirement are compelled to repay all the grant money they received.)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great way to, one, give people a financial incentive to enter the educator workforce on the personal, individual side,\u201d Sagor said. \u201cAnd on the collective side, as a state, it gives us assurances that these students will stay in Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sagor urged state officials to commit to \u201csustained investment\u201d in these programs, providing a guaranteed resource to high school and college students interested in becoming teachers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think sustained investments in the educator workforce\u2026are going to be what helps us to continue to recruit educators,\u201d Sagor said. \u201cHaving the legislature commit to these investments year over year\u2026if that\u2019s something we can start guaranteeing\u2026I do think that will start to trickle down, leading to us having more educators.\u201d<\/p>\n
Success at Scranton<\/p>\n
These programs have proven especially beneficial to Scranton, said Holly Meade, a member of PA Needs Teachers and a Scranton special education teacher who has taught in the district for around 20 years.<\/p>\n
Meade said there was an approximately four-year stretch in which Scranton dealt with a teacher shortage and had a \u201chuge struggle to find new talent.\u201d She said she has recently noticed a reversal of fortunes at Scranton schools with teacher-support initiatives\u00a0 like the student-teacher stipends and the Grow Pa grants \u2014 helping to rejuvenate the district\u2019s workforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, they\u2019ve done a lot in the last four years,\u201d Meade said. \u201cI really feel like we are on the upswing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meade said she was further encouraged by a development earlier this month. On Aug. 6, state Secretary of Education Carrie Rowe announced that Pennsylvania had joined the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, an agreement that makes it easier for teachers moving to Pennsylvania from out of state to earn their Pennsylvanian teacher certification.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving that reciprocity between states is enormous,\u201d Meade said. \u201cThat was a big thing that we\u2019ve been pushing for\u2026that will make it so much easier for people to continue in the profession\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meade said Scranton also benefits from the Aspiring Educator Pathway Program \u2014 an initiative that allows high school students to explore careers in education. She said the Scranton AEPP club has visited East Stroudsburg University and Marywood University and has helped open up new pathways or students.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really been wonderful for our students,\u201d Meade said.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re really encouraging our sophomore, junior, and senior high students to be teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scranton is pairing these efforts to make its faculty more representative of its students \u2014 seeking to diversify a faculty that six years ago had only five non-white teachers.<\/a> Meade said the district was now working to expand its recruitment efforts, sending representatives to career fairs across the region.<\/p>\n \u201cI have noticed a huge difference,\u201d Meade said. \u201cIt really benefits the students, it benefits the culture of the school, and it helps everyone to feel more included and that\u2019s what really education is about.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Hazleton](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/HZS-L-hasd-0503-02.jpg\")
Hazleton Area School District Administration on Friday May 2, 2025.(John Haeger \/ Staff Photographer)
\nHelping Hazleton<\/p>\n