Certification delay for newcomers

To the editors:

According to the article “Backdrop to contract talks: 163 new teachers are emergency-certified” in your Winter 2009 edition, more than a quarter of new hires in the District are emergency- or intern-certified.

But we should remember that some of the emergency certifications come from teachers who move from other states and need some time for Harrisburg to process their permanent state certification. The School District’s Human Resources department does an amazing job of helping teachers navigate the state certification process. Pennsylvania does not have true reciprocity with other states, which means that many people need to get emergency certification for a year while they check all the boxes that Pennsylvania requires.

Chris Lehmann, via online comment

The writer is the principal of Science Leadership Academy.