News

On KYW Newsradio's The Week in Philly podcast, Karen Weaver discusses the impact getting a WNBA team will have on the City of Philadelphia and in particular on the city's girls' and women's sports landscape, including at the high school and collegiate levels.

The Penn GSE Tutoring Initiative at Andrew Hamilton School won second place in the 2025 Phillip B. Lindy Award for Excellence in K-16 Partnerships.

With funding from the Neubauer Family Foundation, the program was created in direct response to the School District of Philadelphia’s call for targeted support in Algebra 1 instruction.

Penn GSE alumni from across the academic spectrum have advised politicians, worked in the White House and the statehouse, and spurred change in our nation’s schools and universities thanks to their evidence-backed expertise in education policy.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ Education Committee Chairmen Bryan Cutler and Peter Schweyer discussed how PA lawmakers plan to work together on public school budgets, special education funding, school choice, the PA State Board of Higher Education, and more.

The recent graduate of Penn GSE’s Urban Teaching Residency shares her classroom at Muñoz-Marin Elementary in North Philadelphia.

$8 Million Funded Project Partnership between Foundations, Inc., Penn’s Graduate School of Education, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at Penn GSE, and The School District of Philadelphia. Schools Have Begun Selecting Students for First Cohort

He says the program helped refine his leadership practices, and his cohorts were supportive and collaborative.

She has a bold vision for the future of Penn GSE that builds on the School’s strengths, responds to pressing needs, and aims to change the world.

The collection brightening Penn GSE’s halls, which will help provide art supplies and programming to under-resourced public schools locally and across the country, includes a piece created years ago by a current Penn GSE student.

The PASS program equips educators, school leaders, and administrators with AI-driven tools to enhance learning, drive innovation, and prepare students for a tech-driven future.

Penn GSE has partnered with the Philadelphia School District to provide workshops for leaders aimed at increasing understanding of antisemitism and Islamophobia in response to community tensions surrounding the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Julee Gard — Vice President for Administration & Finance at the University of St. Francis in Illinois — has gained attention for her model’s ability to provide institutional leaders with actionable insights to enhance financial stability.

At a celebration for the public launch of the School’s new strategic vision, the superintendent joined the dean to discuss how the district and Penn GSE can partner to recruit, retain, and support educators amidst a national shortage.

Penn GSE faculty and students contributed to discussions on quantitative ethnography at ICQE 2024, exploring innovative methods and applications in education.

Ryan Baker announced the University of Pennsylvania’s new master’s program in “Learning Analytics and Artificial Intelligence” to train professionals in applying AI within education and meeting industry demand.

In a newsletter roundup, Technical.ly highlighted the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education launching a new education degree in artificial intelligence, marking the third AI-related degree from Penn this year, alongside an undergraduate program and an online master's.

Penn GSE, the School District of Philadelphia, Foundations, Inc., and the Consortium for Policy Research in Education are partnering to create an innovative and scalable college and career readiness model for students.

The appointment is part of an expansion of the office focused on research to drive the School’s community engagement efforts.

Participants learn pedagogical approaches in their UTR courses in the evening that they can immediately apply in the classrooms in which they teach.

K–12 and college educators discussed the promise and pitfalls of AI at the conference.

The Philadelphia Writing Project will collaborate with local partners to document and highlight the hidden stories of Black youth, supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation.

Significant progress has been made in the four years since Penn pledged $100 million to the School District of Philadelphia to remediate environmental hazards, including asbestos and lead, in hundreds of school buildings.

The program is expanding to new schools, building new partnerships, and even releasing a new book.

The program run by the Office of School and Community Engagement pairs students in the School District of Philadelphia with Penn students and community members for individually tailored tutoring sessions.

Dan Lazar says he constructed the idea of what kind of leader he would be during his time in the educational leadership program at Penn GSE.

Rina Madhani and Sibylla Shekerdjiska-Benatova have each founded literacy nonprofits that put books into the hands of children who need them.

Associate Professor Brooks Bowden explained the benefits of better school quality and fairness, including long-term economic gains for the state, would greatly outweigh the hefty cost.

Proposed funding would drastically narrow PA student-teacher and student-counselor ratios across the state and increase college enrollment.

The Math Tutoring in an Elementary School course, supported by the Netter Center, is open to Penn undergraduate and graduate students and aims to redefine traditional math tutoring.

The initiative provides University funding up to $100,000 for Penn teams piloting practical projects that address social justice issues in Philadelphia.

Katharine O. Strunk, dean of the Penn GSE, joins her fellow deans from prominent Pennsylvania institutions in highlighting the state's teacher shortage crisis.

The Graduate School of Education helps students put their knowledge into practice through community engagement. Three soon-to-be graduates speak with Penn Today about how their service enabled them to deepen their connection with West Philadelphia.

Penn GSE is pioneering multi-tiered initiatives to strengthen mental health support for students and educators across U.S. schools.

The panel covered the conditions in Pennsylvania that led to the lawsuit, what “equitable funding” could or should look like for the 500 diverse school districts across the state, and the specific needs and impacts in Philadelphia.

Sustainable upgrades include green roofs, terra cotta and aluminum shading elements, mechanical system updates, and greater use of natural light, combining for 40 percent annual energy use savings.

Gerald Campano will also be honored with a lifetime achievement award for his professional achievements and mentorship work.

Parker, who took office this year, has pledged to make strengthening Philadelphia public schools a priority of her administration.

Explore West Philadelphia's heritage in a richly illustrated digital archive, where a community's stories of resilience, struggle, and triumph come to life.

The Professional Counseling Program director’s Positioned for Success project was recognized for academically supporting and mentoring Philadelphia students affected by gun violence and parental incarceration.

The CARE Initiative aims to effect change through community members’ own research into the educational issues they face.

Look back with us at some of the stories that defined 2023 for our community.

In addition to a chaired professorship in her name and a fellowship she helped establish, Clayton leaves behind a legacy of quality education for students from all backgrounds.

Meresa García, an Urban Teaching Apprenticeship Program student at Penn GSE, has embarked on a mission to promote literacy and education in Philadelphia. Her journey into advocacy was ignited by her lifelong love for books and her realization of the challenges facing public school students in the city.

The 6-week pilot in West Philly replaces traditional course blocks with round-robin stations and eschews technology, with each classroom led by a team of five educators.

Organizers are seeking presentations of original curriculum, research, or pedagogy related to re-establishing school and classroom communities as authentic, positive, and nurturing spaces. Submissions are due Aug. 18.

A Book a Day Founder and Executive Director Sibylla Shekerdjiska-Benatova is a master’s student in Penn GSE’s Reading/Writing/Literacy program. She says children need engaging and relatable books in order to help them embrace reading and build foundational skills.

Ariane Thomas, a Penn GSE lecturer and director of the Professional Counseling Program, and her colleagues have received a Projects for Progress award for their Positioned for Success initiative.

The commitment provides funding for two key initiatives focused on early childhood education.