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Students and alumni are pushing back against Drexel University’s decision to pause its in-person elementary education major, saying the decision will worsen teacher shortages and undermine community partnerships.
Just seven new full-time School of Education students enrolled this fall, said Britt Faulstick, Drexel’s executive director of news and media relations, in a statement sent to WHYY News.
The pause comes amid teacher shortages affecting communities across the country. Locally, more than 500 full-time teachers left Philadelphia schools last year, driven mainly by resignations, not retirements, according to an Axios report.
At the same time, fewer are joining the profession. Since 2011, the number enrolled in Philadelphia’s teacher preparation programs has declined by 50%, according to Teach Plus Pennsylvania.
Current Drexel students told WHYY News that while the in-person elementary education program is small, it prepares them very well for the rigors of classroom teaching. They also said they’ve received no information from the school about the decision and had no opportunity to give input.
Mark Macwana, a fourth-year general science education major, said the pause contributes to what he called the “de-professionalization” of teaching.
“I thought a lot about how this just really reflects how education as a whole is being viewed in America,” he said.
Faulstick said the university is now “rethinking its approach” amid rising demand for faster, more flexible pathways into the field beyond the four-year degree.
He said the decision is a temporary pause as the school “reviews and reimagines how it prepares educators.”
He also said current students will complete their degrees as planned and pointed to several teaching certification options at the undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate levels.
