Penn GSE has been awarded a $720,000 grant by the William Penn Foundation to pilot a groundbreaking teacher-learning initiative designed to strengthen early grade instruction, improve teacher retention, and expand pathways for aspiring educators across Philadelphia.
Starting this fall, the recent Urban Teaching Apprenticeship Program graduate will be teaching ninth- and tenth-grade English at West Philadelphia High School.
Lauren Overton, GED'16, GRD'24, is among this year’s Lindback Distinguished Principals, while four Penn GSE alums and three partner-school educators receive the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Awards.
The William T. Carter Professor Emerita of Child Development and Education’s recent retirement was commemorated with a daylong symposium on “Imagining and Securing the Futures of Children and Families.”
The senior lecturer and director of the Office of School and Community Engagement is helping a team of fourth-years who are working on an in-shelter after-school program designed for families experiencing homelessness.
These eight graduates have made outstanding contributions to the field of education and Penn GSE, representing the breadth and depth of the School’s impact.
During the month-long initiative focused on human-centered AI, Penn GSE will host several events, including a faculty panel on responsible AI use, a two-day symposium on AI in education, and a mindfulness forum.
At We Love Philly, the alum runs a cybersecurity pre-apprenticeship program, offering students technical skills, jobs training, and a nontraditional path to high school graduation
In a collaboration between Technical.ly and the Bucks County Beacon, Michael Golden comments on the benefits AI can have for classrooms and mentions Penn GSE's PASS program.
Through virtual reality, online professional development, and hands-on curriculum design, Learning Sciences and Technologies alumni are partnering with the Center for Engineering MechanoBiology and the School District of Philadelphia to bring interdisciplinary STEM to life.
In Chalkbeat, Penn GSE graduate Nimet Eren, now principal of Kensington Health Sciences Academy, is featured for leading a school initiative that helps students identify AI-generated misinformation and critically evaluate online content through a new media literacy curriculum.
Betty Chandy and Dean Katharine Strunk say that educators are focused on responsible classroom AI use that strengthens learning and critical thinking rather than replacing teachers.
Two Penn GSE alumni and teacher leaders with the Philadelphia Writing Project (PhilWP), housed at Catalyst at Penn GSE, will be featured on the opening panel at the Civic Learning Week National Forum, hosted in Philadelphia on March 9, 2026.
On CBS News Philadelphia, alumna Sibylla Shekerdjiska-Benatova and her nonprofit, A Book a Day, were featured for their work helping West Philadelphia children better understand their world through access to books and literacy programming.
In WHYY-AM, Jen McLaughlin Cahill reflects on the enduring impact of A Wrinkle in Time, showing how the beloved novel—and the Arden Theatre’s stage adaptation—serves as both a mirror and a window for young audiences by inviting them into imaginative worlds and fostering empathy through storytelling.
Penn GSE’s Early Childhood Education and Family Studies Certificate blends research, practice, and community partnerships to prepare leaders who want to influence systems that support young children and their families.
The Institute is funded by an Institutional Impact grant from the Educating Character Initiative, awarded by Wake Forest University’s Program for Leadership and Character and made possible through the generous support of the Lilly Endowment Inc.
Penn GSE was one of the hosts—alongside the PA Governor’s Office, Penn Engineering, and PennAI—of the “Unlocking AI for Public Good” summit at which experts from around the University and policymakers from throughout the Commonwealth explored how generative AI can be responsibly harnessed for public benefit.
Principal Julia Snyder, GED’10, discusses the gains of today and the plans for tomorrow at the Henry C. Lea School in West Philadelphia, one of Penn GSE’s partner schools.
Michael Golden says that by equipping educators with the tools, knowledge, and ethical frameworks they need, the PASS program is helping to shape a future where AI enhances learning and promotes equity in every classroom.
With this new funding, the Pioneering AI in School Systems (PASS) program will expand to five school districts or regions across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware in December and will be offered free of charge to participating districts.
The alum and digital literacy specialist at Philly's Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy gives us a tour of the multidisciplinary makerspace where he works, using its technology and tools to involve students in hands-on learning.
Penn undergrad Cole DuHaime, a student in Penn GSE's Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s Degree Program, taught math to seventh graders over the summer in a service opportunity made possible by Generation Teach and the Ben Franklin Scholars Program.
Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington tells ABC News about the district's PASS Program partnership with Penn GSE to train its teachers and leaders in AI.
Penn GSE's Pioneering AI in School Systems (PASS) program helps local teachers and school and district leaders build competence in AI governance, policy, oversight, and practical application.
The program brings together faculty and staff from across disciplines to engage with the state’s diverse regions and develop solutions to shared challenges.
The five-year program kicked off this summer with programming that empowered adolescents to assess their skills and imagine what’s possible for their careers.
The Philadelphia Inquirer interviews new Philly teachers Faith Applegate and Sophia Leung, current Urban Teaching Residency program students who co-founded a group for aspiring teachers as Penn undergrads.
The Philadelphia Inquirer covers the first cohort of the Academy at Penn, a college- and career-readiness program for Philly students from underserved communities, with one participant calling the program “a 10 out of 10.”
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.
WHYY profiles Penn GSE's partnership with the School District of Philadelphia and nonprofits to form the Academy at Penn, boosting college and career pathways for students from underserved communities.
Penn GSE, at the School District of Philadelphia's request, is offering eighth- and ninth-grade Algebra 1 teachers a fellowship designed to teach them different ways to explain algebraic functions.
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 will work with the School District of Philadelphia and Neubauer Family Foundation to support math instruction for students. Dean Katharine Strunk says, “We are honored to support teachers with the tools, training, and strategies that will help their students thrive in this critical subject.”
A profile on Furness High School highlights the launch of “The Academy of Penn,” a program designed to support first-generation college students and those from under-resourced communities through academic assistance, career exposure, and social-emotional resources.
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.
Michael Golden describes the district’s new AI training program, PASS, as a scalable model built on Philadelphia’s expertise, aiming to support educators globally by promoting responsible, informed integration of AI into school systems.
$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
Penn GSE is investing $8 million in two Philadelphia high schools to support underserved students, aiming to improve college and career readiness through intensive academic and emotional support, with Dean Katharine O. Strunk highlighting its focus on enhancing life outcomes.
