Hazleton Area, colleges team up to address teacher shortage
SUBMITTED PHOTO - From left: CU President Bashar Hanna, John Yudichak, President of Luzerne County Community College, and Dr. Brian Uplinger, Hazleton Area School District Superintendent.:
HAZLETON – Two area colleges and a school district are teaming up to help address the teacher shortage in Pennsylvania.
Commonwealth University, Luzerne County Community College, and Hazleton Area announced an educational partnership Thursday at LCCC’s Hazleton Center.
Dubbed the “Teach in NEPA Project,” it will begin in the fall 2025 semester and is intended to create a seamless transfer pipleing for students to attain an associate degree in early childhood education at LCCC which will guarantee junior status in Commonwealth University’s PK-4 early childhood education major.
Commonwealth will deliver the last two years of the academy program in a combination of online learning and face-to-face courses at LCCC’s Hazleton Center.
The partnership will also create a local education hub in the HASD for students to complete their practicum observations and student teaching experiences.
The schools say the educational partnership among LCCC, CU, and HASD will create the most efficient, cost-effective pathway to a debt-free bachelor’s degree in education, while addressing the critical teacher shortage in Pennsylvania.
“We are excited to collaborate with our colleagues at Luzerne County Community College and the Hazleton Area School District to provide students a clear and seamless matriculation path to Commonwealth University as part of an affordable pathway to a degree in education,” said Bashar W. Hanna, CU president. “This partnership will help our communities address the teacher shortage in Pennsylvania.”
Students will participate in classroom observations, hands-on training, and student teaching experiences at HASD. Access to local student teaching experiences will eliminate any barriers students traditionally face by often being required to travel outside their local area. The Hazleton Area School District will work with the LCCC and CU leadership teams to create opportunities to retain graduates of the partnership for employment at HASD following graduation. Hazleton Area School District contains 16 schools and has 13,700 students.
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