Upper Darby SD seeks Board support to pursue certified teacher apprenticeship designation and state grant

District leaders told the Education & Pupil Services Committee they are pursuing registration as a certified teacher apprenticeship site and will seek Board approval to move the item to the March 11 meeting and to pursue a state grant intended to support teacher-apprenticeship programs.

Administrators said the district began designing apprenticeship pathways in 2024 and had previously planned a related pilot (funding for 24 kindergarten instructional assistants) but removed that budget item because of constraints. The district described ongoing collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (which is developing templates to streamline school-district apprenticeship applications) and the Delaware County Office of Workforce Development.

The presenters described the Pennsylvania Department of Labor’s supporting certified teacher registered apprenticeship program grant, noting the Commonwealth announced approximately $4,200,000 in funding statewide to assist schools that develop teacher-apprenticeship programs. The district said it is preparing an application and building program frameworks, with a stated focus on pre-baccalaureate pathways for pre-K–4 and K–12 special-education certification — occupations identified as county workforce priorities — and that program frameworks will specify on-the-job training, related technical instruction, partnerships with postsecondary providers and candidate eligibility criteria.

Presenters said potential apprentices could range from recent high-school graduates with no college experience to paraprofessionals or staff who have partial college credits; the district also described a hiring contract structure used in earlier planning that required apprentices to commit to multi-year service (the earlier model described a six-year commitment tied to district-funded education). Board members asked about timing and eligibility; presenters said the state framework is still being finalized and a grant window would run July 2025–July 2027, and said the district has already prepared application materials since January 2024 and believes it is positioned to apply when the framework is released.

The committee signaled consensus to advance the apprenticeship and grant-seeking item to the March 11 board meeting; presenters emphasized that final program structure, eligibility rules, required service commitments and contract provisions will be specified in apprenticeship documents and any grant application.