Students in Hazleton will soon be able to earn a four-year teaching degree without ever leaving the city.
With 5,500 teacher vacancies statewide, Luzerne County Community College, Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania and the Hazleton Area School District announced the creation of a “Grow Your Own” model on Thursday.
Students can spend two years at LCCC and two years at Commonwealth, with all classes either in-person in Hazleton or online. Total cost is less than $30,000. Commonwealth University was created in 2022 with the merger of Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield universities. The program starts in the fall.
“This is paramount. This is fantastic,” said Brian Uplinger, Hazleton superintendent. “It’s unprecedented. It’s a way for them to get that education they want at a very affordable price.”
City, college and community leaders gathered at the LCCC Hazleton center, 100 W. Broad St., for the announcement.
Students can begin earning credits in high school through dual enrollment. They can then earn an associate's degree in early childhood education at the Hazleton center. Students are then guaranteed junior status with Commonwealth and can earn the remaining credits needed for a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education while remaining in Hazleton. Upon certification, the graduates will be eligible to teach in preschool through fourth grade.
Enrollment continues to grow in the Hazleton Area School District, which has 13,700 students. About 70% are Hispanic — a population underrepresented in education careers.
The school district will welcome observations, hands-on training and student teachers. Eliminating the need for travel to classes or to student teaching helps eliminate barriers, officials said. The district also hopes to hire graduates for teaching vacancies.
The program comes at a time of great need in the classroom. The number of teachers certified by Pennsylvania has declined 62% since 2010, according to state data. A Penn State report found that many teachers are leaving the field altogether, with the attrition rate of 7.7% in 2022-23 being the highest on record.
Without certified applicants, districts increasingly rely on those with emergency certifications to fill vacancies. Those teachers must have bachelor’s degrees, but not a teaching degree. Of the 900 teachers in Hazleton, about 80 have emergency certifications, Uplinger said.
Students can seek financial aid and scholarships. The schools call the new program the “most affordable pathway to a debt-free college degree in Pennsylvania.”
In March, LCCC hosted a State Board of Higher Education hearing about possible solutions for the challenges faced by higher education.
'This is a big solution to the challenges of access and affordability,” LCCC President John Yudichak said Thursday. “This is a whole new model for higher education. Go here, graduate here, teach here. It's exciting news for the city of Hazleton and Hazleton Area School District, and really for the higher education landscape in Pennsylvania.'
“This is a big solution to the challenges of access and affordability,” LCCC President John Yudichak said Thursday. “This is a whole new model for higher education. Go here, graduate here, teach here. It's exciting news for the city of Hazleton and Hazleton Area School District, and really for the higher education landscape in Pennsylvania.”
Yudichak and Commonwealth University President Bashar Hanna said more degree programs could eventually come to Hazleton.
“If you have an educationally vibrant community, you have a vibrant community,” said Hanna, who announced this week he would leave the university in July and become vice chancellor for strategic initiatives for Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education. “We want to be partners with you to make sure Hazleton, the town of Hazleton, becomes something that you can only imagine today.”
