Report: Teacher shortages hitting both rural and urban school districts

School’s back in session, but districts across the commonwealth continue to be hindered by a dramatically worsening teacher shortage. 

According to a report from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a long-term teacher shortage, combined with supply and demand issues in education, is affecting school districts in both rural and urban areas. 

That shortage includes a 67% decrease in the number of individuals obtaining teacher certifications in just over a decade, according to research by Edward J. Fuller, an associate professor in the College of Education at Penn State University.

“The supply of new teachers has declined substantially and is insufficient to meet demand of both rural and urban districts,” the report reads. “Demand has increased through elevated attrition and changes in student characteristics for both rural and urban districts.”

The report, which looked at state administrative data from 2014 to 2025, found that teacher supply fell substantially between 2013 and 2017, declining by 66% in that period – and that supply has not recovered.  

“Pennsylvania’s schools depend on a strong and stable teacher workforce," state Sen. Gene Yaw, a Republican from Lycoming County and chair of the Center for Rural PA, said in a statement. “These findings can help inform continued efforts to strengthen Pennsylvania's teacher pipeline and ensure students have access to qualified educators.”

The report also found that both urban and rural school districts have many teachers working in areas outside their certifications, as well as an increasing number of teachers working on emergency teaching permits since the pandemic. While teacher quality tended to be higher in rural districts than in their urban counterparts, career and technical education in rural areas lagged behind the rest of the state. 

“The sharp increase in emergency permits and the persistent use of out-of-field teaching assignments indicate that many rural and urban districts continue to face significant teacher shortages, which may affect instructional quality,” the report states. 

Zachary L. Adams, executive director of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, told City & State that “grow-your-own” teacher apprenticeship programs – which allow individuals to become licensed teachers for free while earning a wage through job-embedded training – could go a long way toward bridging the gap for many commonwealth school districts. 

“The concern that I’ve heard from rural and small-school-district superintendents is that they don’t have enough qualified applicants for the roles that they post,” Adams said, who added that the apprenticeships open doors for staff already in the school community to make the leap toward teaching. “The apprenticeship model sort of removes those barriers and allows school systems to recruit talent from within in a way that principals and superintendents haven’t been able to do before.” 

Citing Tennessee’s teacher apprenticeship program – the first state program of its kind – Adams said a similar program in Pennsylvania would allow individuals to “grow into the position” while still being paid and supervised by a teacher mentor. 

“It’s almost like a four-year student-teacher role, where you’re gradually given more responsibility based on the skills that you’ve mastered,” Adams told City & State. “This allows the person who wants to step into a teacher role in a rural district to do so without having to quit their job.”

Pennsylvania’s apprenticeship program has grown in recent years under the Shapiro administration. In 2025, the state created a $4.2 million grant opportunity to expand the Certified Teacher Registered Apprenticeship, putting up an additional $7.76 million later in the year. As part of the grant process, local intermediate units and schools could receive up to $400,000 – or $600,000 for those serving more than one district – to expand existing earn-as-you-learn programs in education. 

“This program is an innovative Pennsylvania solution to the teacher shortages affecting schools and students nationwide,” Labor and Industry Secretary Nancy A. Walker said at the time. “By combining on-the-job training with classroom instruction, we’re creating pathways to family-sustaining careers while helping our schools and students thrive.”