May 28, 2026 – PA Needs Teachers launched a new data dashboard in partnership with Craft Education to make Pennsylvania’s educator pipeline data more visible and accessible. The dashboard tracks enrollment and completion trends across the Commonwealth’s Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) from 2019 to 2023.

“Pennsylvania is facing a teacher shortage crisis, and it is critical for policymakers to understand the scope of the problem so they can develop and fund effective solutions like the student teacher stipend,” said Emily Sagor, coalition manager with PA Needs Teachers. “We know that while every community needs more teachers, the severity is not even across the commonwealth. Further, the dashboard shows which subjects future teachers are pursuing and which subject areas are in greater need due to a lack of future teachers. We hope the data dashboard helps educators, policymakers, and advocates better understand where Pennsylvania’s teacher pipeline is strong and where it needs additional support so we can rebuild it and make sure there is a qualified, well-trained teacher in every classroom.”

The data dashboard breaks down enrollment and completion information for Pennsylvania’s EPPs. It shows which programs are training aspiring teachers, and displays enrollees and completers by geography. The dashboard provides a clear and comprehensive view of Pennsylvania’s teacher pipeline and can inform efforts to improve teacher preparation in the commonwealth.

Features of the data dashboard include:

• Enrollment & Completion: Statewide EPP enrollment and completion numbers, broken down by route (alternative, IHE-based, and traditional), institution type (public vs. private not-for-profit), and individual programs.
• Completers Map: geographic distribution of EPP completers across Pennsylvania, including the percentage of completers of color by county.
• Completers by Subject: EPP completion trends by subject category over time, plus maps of completers by subject area.
• Top 10 Programs: The top 10 programs by number of completers by racial composition and by subject area — showing where Pennsylvania’s pipeline is most active.

PA Needs Teachers, a statewide coalition led by Teach Plus and the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), has led efforts to alleviate the teacher shortage crisis. For the past four years, they have held an annual summit that brings together educators, experts, and advocates to explore the root causes of the shortage and possible solutions.

The coalition has released multiple reports detailing their findings and has also developed tools to track the severity of teacher shortages by county and state senate districts.

About PA Needs Teachers:  Founded in 2022, PA Needs Teachers is a coalition of over 50 organizations – including school districts, universities, non-profits, statewide associations, and business organizations – working to address Pennsylvania’s teacher shortage crisis by addressing root causes and implementing policy strategies to inspire systems-level change. For more information, www.paneedsteachers.com

Teach Plus: The mission of Teach Plus is to empower excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. Since 2009, Teach Plus has developed thousands of teacher leaders across the country to exercise their leadership in shaping education policy and improving teaching and learning, to create an education system driven by access and excellence for all. For more information, www.teachplus.org

NCEE: Since 1988, The National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) has been researching the world’s best-performing education systems to give states and districts the tools they need to become world class. NCEE has been a leader in U.S. education from policy to practice, producing reports that have led to landmark national legislation, supporting states in redesigning their education systems, and providing rigorous, proven support to more education leaders than any other organization. NCEE’s dedicated, diverse, and experienced staff are working with teachers, school leaders, district leadership teams, and state policymakers to create the highest-performing, most equitable systems of education in the world. For more information, visit www.ncee.org.

Craft Education: Craft Education is the leading education technology company focused on apprentice-based programs, establishing and facilitating on-the-job training aligned with degree programs and work-ready skills.  Craft is developing the ecosystem platform for enabling work-based pathways across higher education and employer partners. For more information, visit www.crafteducation.com.

Information provided to TVL by:
Mark Nicastre