A scholarship funded by a Pittsburgh family will not only cover education costs for 35 aspiring educators of color, but also includes a paid summer program at the University of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Promise scholarship fund announced Thursday.
Recipients of the scholarship “will not only have the opportunity to pursue a career in education, but to give back to the next generation of students by bringing their talents and example back to PPS,” said Debbie Demchak, a Promise board member. She and her husband, PNC Financial Services Group President and CEO Bill Demchak, donated $1 million to fund the initiative.
The Promise offers up to $20,000 for eligible Pittsburgh Public Schools graduates who attend post-secondary institutions in Pennsylvania. The Advancing Educators of Color scholarship will cover the rest of costs for selected students who intend to pursue their teaching certificate.
While scholarship recipients won’t be mandated to teach in Pittsburgh Public Schools, Pittsburgh Promise executive director Saleem Ghubril said he hopes that the combination of inspiration from Pitt’s summer teacher training program and eliminating the financial burden will put students in a good position to return to the city.
Ghubril said that while the teaching scholarship was available to any student eligible to receive a Pittsburgh Promise grant, the Advancing Educators of Color scholarship will give preference to students of color.
A large body of research, including a 2018 report from Philadelphia-based Research for Action, shows that Black students have better academic outcomes under the guidance of Black teachers.
“Outcomes include higher educational attainment, lower dropout rates, and reduced disciplinary actions,” Ghubril said.
Research for Action found that in Pennsylvania, the disparity between teachers of color and students of color is more than twice the national average. According to its analysis, in Pennsylvania between 2013 to 2020, the share of teachers of color only increased from 5.4% to 6%, while the share of students of color increased from 30.5% to 35.8%. Last school year, half of Pennsylvania public schools and 37% of all school districts employed only white teachers.
In Allegheny County, more than half of teachers of color are employed by Pittsburgh Public, according to a Research for Action analysis. That report found that 42% of all county schools had no teachers of color in the 2019-20 school year.
While nearly 65% of PPS students are students of color, only about 15% of teachers are teachers of color.
The district has attempted to address the disparity with programs that include a teaching magnet program for students at Brashear High School. The district also offers training opportunities for para-professionals to become classroom teachers: A majority of the district’s para-professionals, who aid teachers, are people of color.
“By undertaking new efforts to recruit, retain, and support Black educators, we will be able to ignite learning, transform education, and uncover the genius, joy and love that already exist within all of our students,” said Valerie Kinloch, Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Education, on Wednesday.
The PPS school board approved the scholarship program Wednesday night.
On Thursday Interim Superintendent Wayne Walters called the scholarship a “game-changing opportunity for students of color,” who wish to return to their hometown to teach.
Walters said the scholarship also demonstrates humanity for a district that faces numerous challenges.
“No matter how things can look, no matter what tough times we may be going through, compassion has elevated itself over everything that may be negative,” Walter said.
He said he will deem the program successful once the district employs the 35 new educators.
Addressing that next generation of teachers, he said, “We need you to step into the profession that creates all other professions and bring the expertise of your lived experience as a Pittsburgh Public Schools students to future generations of students in our classrooms."
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must have attended PPS since ninth grade, maintain a 2.5 grade point average and have attended at least 90 percent of school days.
