Pittsburgh Urban Teaching Corps includes free master’s degree from Chatham

Here and across the U.S., the teacher pipeline isn’t flowing like it used to.

According to Pennsylvania’s Department of Education, the number of people in the state seeking teacher certifications went down by 62% between the 2012-13 and 2014-15 school years—a huge drop. Meanwhile, on average, almost 16 percent of teachers leave their posts each year.

These numbers reflect a growing problem: fewer young people are interested in entering the teaching profession, and experienced teachers are leaving the field in increasing numbers. Experts point to a combination of factors, including the rise of standardized testing, low teacher pay and high student debt. There’s also the impact of the teaching profession serving as a political football in statewide debates on education funding.

While the teacher shortages in other parts of the state haven’t yet hit Pittsburgh, the effects of an empty teacher pipeline will hit us sooner or later. For schools in urban areas that serve mostly poor students of color, ones that already struggle with a long list of challenges, it’s going to be sooner.

Propel Charter Schools answer to this trend: the Pittsburgh Urban Teaching Corps (PUTC). Propel’s 10 locations around the greater Pittsburgh area all fall within this most vulnerable group, but the schools has already seen some success in finding solutions to their challenges.

Started in 2003, Propel has won local and national education awards for their achievements in raising students’ test scores. In 2010, they received a $3.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to continue to develop their educational model for students from urban, high-poverty areas.

Propel Superintendent and CEO Dr. Tina Chekan says the school’s leadership decided they couldn’t wait for top-down efforts to address the problem of training and retaining qualified teachers. “Our students need good educators now,” she says. With 10 locations and more than 3,500 students, “we have a unique opportunity to develop these kinds of teachers.”

That’s why, in 2014, Propel developed the Corps with Chatham University. The four-year teacher residency program addresses the two biggest factors that studies have shown affect teachers’ decision to enter and stay in the field: professional support and earnings.

“If we want great teachers to stay in education,” says Dr. Chekan, “we need to train them and support them.”

While the Corps is specifically intended to meet Propel’s needs, Dr. Chekan sees it as having a broader effect.

“This program will have a long-term impact on the whole region. These teachers are going to come and make their home here,” she says.

The program kicked off last year with 10 candidates, all of whom are required to have a bachelor’s degree in a core subject such as History or English, experience working with children in an urban setting, and a commitment to teaching and social justice. The deadline for applications this year has been extended to December 15.

The first 15 months of the program are grueling. Candidates take four semesters of full-time coursework in the evenings, while apprentice teaching in Propel classrooms four days a week. By the end of the first year, candidates receive their teacher certification for grades 4-8, and for the newest group, grades 7-12 as well.

One big incentive for them—the tuition for their Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree at Chatham is free, paid for using funds from the Propel Foundation, contributions from each school, and support from the Benter Foundation and Henry L. Hillman Foundation. Each candidate also receives a monthly $1350 stipend while taking classes, with the promise of three years of employment as a teacher in the Propel system at a $40,000 starting salary. The average starting teacher salary in the U.S. is $35,600.

Another thing that makes the PUTC program unusual, says Propel Director of Talent Kimberly Roberts, is the amount of support and front-line teaching experience candidates receive. Throughout their yearlong rotation in Propel classrooms, they are mentored by a designated Propel teacher, as well as having the support of Chatham faculty.

Most teacher training, points out Ms. Roberts, lasts just 14 weeks, often in a suburban classroom that presents different challenges than the ones Propel teachers will face. “There is no classroom learning that prepares you to be in a classroom,” she says. In the PUTC program, “they are training in the same classrooms they will be teaching in.”

By the end of that year, she adds, “the students see them as teachers. They know them and trust them.”

Trust is critically important to these students, she says, because many of them are coming from such difficult circumstances.

“Think about what what’s happening to these kids. On their way to school, they’re travelling through neighborhoods with abandoned homes. They pass particular corners and remember when a particular person died there. They haven’t eaten the night before,” she says.

“It’s heavy on your heart, heavy on your mind. These kids are bringing fear and aggression into the classroom.”

Chatham Assistant Professor Dr. Tyra Good is the PUTC liaison and supervises the candidates’ student teaching. She says that one way the program prepares them for the challenges they’ll face is cultivating a certain mindset.

Teachers have to see the child, not what the child lacks. “You can’t teach to a deficit. You have to teach to their potential,” she says. “You have to make them feel valuable. Sometimes that means adapting the curriculum so they can see themselves in it.”

Another key, says Dr. Good: understanding that your role as a teacher goes beyond the classroom. “These kids need their school, their family, and their community to be in partnership. You have to go the extra mile.”

That’s why the PUTC program has such a rigorous application process, says Ms. Roberts. “We need to establish a pipeline, and to make the teaching profession attractive. But this isn’t a hobby. We need them to be prepared.”

The result, says Dr. Chekan, is candidates that really want to teach in an urban classroom and make a difference. “All our teachers are passionate,” she says. “But these residents are so excited and committed.”

Current PUTC candidate Mayada Christiansen confirms that while the opportunity to earn a tuition-free Master’s degree was attractive, it was the program’s emphasis on social justice and problem-solving that got her to sign up. Formerly an employee of A+ Schools, a nonprofit advocating for quality schools in Pittsburgh, she found herself wanting to take a more active role in kids’ education. “I thought, it’s time for me to go to the front lines and see what I can do there,” she says.

Her classmate Sonia Ewell was already working at Propel Homestead as a paraprofessional when she heard about the PUTC program. Although the program is tough for a married woman with 4 children, it’s worth it for her, she says.

“A lot of these students don’t know what they’re capable of, so to see them exceed expectations—it’s what we live for as teachers.”

Ms. Roberts says Propel has plans to expand the PUTC program. This year’s class will have 20 members, plus the option to add 10 more working toward a special education certification.

Roberts notes that the program is designed to produce teachers whose training and experience will keep them in the profession, whether at Propel or elsewhere. In return, they earn a Master’s degree at no cost, get a guaranteed teaching experience at Propel, and “have the opportunity to change the lives of their students. It’s a win-win-win.”

For more information on the Pittsburgh Urban Teaching Corps, contact Kimberly Roberts at kimberlyroberts@propelschools.org