Drexel University has paused admission into its in-person elementary education major after just seven new full-time School of Education students enrolled this fall, a decision the school is calling temporary even as current students and a major donor push back. The pause leaves the future of a program that has fed teachers directly into Philadelphia classrooms for years in limbo, at a moment when the city is already struggling to keep enough educators in front of students.
A Small Enrollment Number, A Big Reaction
University executive director of news and media relations Britt Faulstick confirmed the seven-student figure and described the pause as part of a broader look at how Drexel prepares educators, according to WHYY. Faulstick said lower enrollment reflects a national shift toward faster, more flexible, post-baccalaureate teacher-certification routes, while still acknowledging that demand for well-prepared teachers remains. Drexel says it will review combining related majors and expanding online, post-baccalaureate, and other certification routes, and that its existing certification programs — including DragonsTeach for undergraduates in STEM majors and an accelerated teacher certification program offered in partnership with the Philadelphia School District — are not affected by the admissions pause.
Drexel has also pointed to its graduate-level options. The university's 2027-2028 graduate catalog lists Pennsylvania Department of Education-approved programs that let people who already hold bachelor's degrees become certified elementary school teachers, according to the Drexel University Catalog. Drexel says students already enrolled in the undergraduate program will be allowed to remain and finish their degrees with full support.
Students Who Say the Program Changed Their Lives
Naomi Yoon, a senior elementary education major, has worked in four Philadelphia public school classrooms, helping about 150 students. She is student teaching at Samuel Powel School in West Philadelphia. Yoon has said that keeping the education major for even one more undergraduate means 150 children getting a quality student teacher and classroom.
Sam Ramos, a 20-year-old junior elementary education major, works in her co-op program at Powel and says she will complete another six months of student teaching next year. Ramos has defended the program’s value and its contribution to the community. Melina Galias, who graduated from Drexel in 2026 and now teaches English and American history at Paul Robeson High School in Philadelphia, has said her undergraduate experience prepared her to lead her own classroom and work with students, families, and staff. Students have since created a website called Save the Drexel Education Major and are planning a rally on campus at 33rd and Market Streets on December 5.
A Shortage That Predates the Pause
Philadelphia's teacher shortage is not new, and the numbers behind it are stark. Enrollment in the city's teacher-preparation programs has declined by 50% since 2011, according to Teach Plus Pennsylvania data cited by WHYY, while education colleges nationally enrolled a third fewer prospective teachers in 2022-23 than a decade earlier, per an Education Week analysis of AACTE figures. More than 500 full-time teachers left Philadelphia schools the previous year, driven mainly by resignations rather than retirements, per the same WHYY account citing Axios reporting.
A separate analysis found Philadelphia teachers in district and charter schools are leaving at higher rates than counterparts elsewhere in Pennsylvania, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Statewide, 44% of Pennsylvania districts reported at least one vacant teacher position in 2023-24, a share that fell to 38% the following year, according to the Penn State Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Analysis, which estimated roughly 2,100 to 2,477 vacant teaching positions statewide in 2024-25.
A Principal and a Donor Push Back
Timothy Boyle, principal of Science Leadership Academy Middle School in West Philadelphia, gets all of his student teachers from Drexel and has said the region does not need one fewer education program, even if Drexel isn't getting the return on investment it wants. Boyle has argued that closing any traditional or alternative teacher-preparation pathway runs counter to actually solving the shortage. Drexel still owns the building housing Boyle's school along with Powel Elementary, which it rents to the Philadelphia School District for $12 a year.
John McNichol, who said he and his wife have donated more than $200,000 to Drexel's School of Education and sponsored 17 students for school co-ops impacting more than 400 students and families in low-income neighborhoods, emailed Drexel President Antonio Merlo earlier this year to express distress over the pause. McNichol said he received no response. McNichol and his wife also created an early childhood education lab and awards program at Drexel, and he has said teacher-preparation, certification, and retention programs amount to essential public infrastructure amid an acute regional shortage.
Drexel's Residency Track Record
Separate from the paused major, Drexel's School of Education runs a teacher residency program that the university says will train and certify 25 teachers over three years, backed by a $600,000 multi-year grant from the William Penn Foundation, according to Drexel University. The university says more than 200 teacher residents have earned certification through that program since its inception and gone on to teaching jobs in Philadelphia.
How Other Universities Are Making Similar Cuts
Drexel's move comes amid other universities' reviews of academic programs. Penn State administrators recommended dropping or reconstituting 47 majors, according to Higher Ed Dive. Nationally, alternative teacher-preparation routes have grown.
