How the Citywide Talent Coalition Moved Pipeline Development Forward This Past Year

The Philadelphia Citywide Talent Coalition–composed of over 20 representatives from education, nonprofit, civic, research, and philanthropy–is charged with implementing strategies to recruit, retain, and develop more effective teachers, specifically, teachers of color.

In its first full year as an established coalition, there has been tremendous progress toward uniting the city around the importance of creating a teacher pipeline that benefits all schools. The coalition’s achievements have already positively impacted the education system, and also laid the foundation needed for success in the year ahead.

Here are just a few of the ways in which the coalition has moved the talent pipeline development forward:

• Created a comprehensive data report on the current state of the teacher workforce and procured funding to make data tracking a key driver for future action.

• Secured federal workforce funds to reimburse schools for teacher certification costs.

• Identified funding to develop a recruitment campaign and a one-stop-shop resource hub for teachers, launching in early 2024.

• Commissioned a citywide teacher survey–responded to by 734 Philadelphia District and charter teachers–to gather feedback on recruitment and retention strategies around professional and financial incentives.

• Supported the launch of a Career Technical Education K-12 Teacher Program at SLA Beeber and launched structures to support additional high schools to start or enhance programming to expose students to teaching and get on a path to become future teachers.

• Facilitated the creation of the Philadelphia Affinity Group Network to support and retain teachers of color.

This is just the beginning. Be on the lookout for more data, info, and action steps by the coalition in the months to come.