In May, Gwynedd Mercy University said it would partner with Bucks County Community College and BCIU to create the state’s first undergraduate apprenticeship program, with a focus on special education. This grant will help fund the program, said Deborah Schadler, coordinator of undergraduate education at Gwynedd Mercy.

Chester County Intermediate Unit 24 ($600,000): It will expand its post-baccalaureate special education apprenticeship program in high-need districts. The grant will also allow the Intermediate Unit to provide certification and mentorship programs to student teachers.

Esperanza Academy Charter School in Philadelphia ($400,000): The grant will be used by a partnership between Esperanza Academy and Eastern University to help paraprofessionals earn Bachelor of Science degrees in special education and acquire teacher certifications.

In the 2023-24 school year, the state Department of Education said it issued more than 6,600 teachers’ certificates, about 100 more than the previous school year. Still, about 5,500 teaching vacancies remain in Pennsylvania.

Why teaching shortages?

The teacher shortage is fueled by low pay and difficult working conditions, education advocates say, along with more teachers leaving the profession. The statewide attrition rate is about 7%.

Laura Boyce, executive director of Teach Plus, a nonprofit group, said the apprenticeship model for teachers is becoming increasingly popular nationwide.

In a related matter Monday, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh highlighted Gov. Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget proposal for a $55 million investment to give $1,000 retention and recruitment bonuses to eligible childcare providers in the state’s Child Care Works Program.

The state estimates that there are 3,000 childcare worker vacancies statewide. More than 300,000 children in Pennsylvania participate in the state’s childcare system.

“An early childhood education experience can shape the educational, social and emotional development of our youngest Pennsylvanians, providing a foundation that will reap benefits throughout their lives,” said Arkoosh in a visit to the Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center on Monday.

A group of advocates from around Pennsylvania are heading to Harrisburg on Tuesday hoping that state leaders will hear their stories and make legislative changes to help victims of violent crimes.

The push at the capitol on June 3 aims to give victims the resources and security they need while going through traumatic and tough times.

Yolanda Jennings is a survivor of domestic abuse and is all too familiar with losing loved ones to violence.

In 2004, Jennings said that her sister was stabbed to death by her fiancé during a domestic violence dispute. Then, in 2019, she said her cousin was shot and killed by the father of her children. Jennings also said that, in 2024, police shot and killed her son while he was having a mental health crisis.

“My faith is paramount to my survival. I could not do it if I did not have my faith. And then being able to help people every day. Knowing that all the things that I’ve gone through that now I can help somebody else get through their trauma,” Jennings told NBC10.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.

That’s why, Jennings will join a coalition of crime victims, community members and advocates with crime survivors for safety and justice to bring their voices to Harrisburg to meet with state leaders.

“We are hoping to share with them our stories. To put a face on the people who need these services, because we are all survivors and nobody can tell our story better than us,” Jennings explained. “The whole society is affected by these things. And we just want to make sure that people get the resources that they need.”

The group is pushing for three bills to get passed.

• House bill 72: Provides tenants rights in cases of violence.
• House bill 1042: Offers nonviolent offenders vocational and education credit while serving time.
• House bill 964: Provides employment leave for victims and their families of violence.

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence said that 119 people died because of domestic violence in the Keystone State in 2022. The organization reports that it serves about 90,000 people in the commonwealth each year.

The organization is also going to Harrisburg on Tuesday looking to secure $5 million to build three new trauma recovery centers in the state in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Altoona. As of 2025, there is only one and it’s located in Harrisburg.

POTTSTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) — Rescue crews were on the Schuylkill River Sunday night in Pottstown, searching for a missing boater near the Keim Street Bridge.

The bridge links Montgomery and Chester counties, and both counties are involved in the search for the man.

First responders noted high water and a strong current.

On Sunday night, the damaged green boat was hauled out of the dark water.

Officials believe somehow two boaters got caught in pipes under the dismantled bridge around 8:45 p.m. on Sunday. One boater got out, and the second man went under.

The initial search was suspended around 2:45 a.m. on Monday, with plans that the fire department will return to the scene during the daylight to begin searching the area again.

The bridge is in the process of being torn down.

Action News was there in March for the groundbreaking to rebuild the bridge. The bridge was originally built in 1935 but closed in 2010 due to structural deficiencies.

The contractor posted a video last month showing the pipes being installed and explaining that in order to access the island at the center of the river, a causeway needs to be constructed.

Since the river cannot be diverted, 96-inch diameter, 40-foot-long pipes were placed in the water, with some sections weighing up to 42,000 lbs.

The name and age of the missing boater has not been released. He is believed to be a white male, who is approximately 6 feet tall.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911.