In a new report released by the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), 1,055 teachers have resigned since July 1. More than 4,200 teaching positions remain vacant, with a majority of them being filled by substitutes or other part-time solutions.
“This is an intolerable situation and must be addressed immediately. Teachers have been underpaid for years, and they have also been discouraged by a lack of administrative support for classroom discipline…” Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said in part in a news release.
The teacher shortage has been a crisis for years in Arizona.
In a survey sent to school districts and charters, of the 4,200 teaching positions that remain vacant, 30% are being covered by long-term substitutes, nearly 24% are filled by existing teachers who are working through their prep or planning time and nearly 23% are covered by “agency temporary personnel,” ADE said. After that, about 1,400 positions remain completely unfilled.
“This survey is disheartening because the solutions are obvious. Just about any classroom teacher can tell you what is needed to thrive as educators and lead students to academic excellence. Better pay and robust support from administrators on discipline are vital,” Horne said in the news release
Horne had hoped a Prop 123 proposal would pass this last legislative session. Lawmakers had discussed using money from the State Land Trust to increase teacher pay, but ultimately, nothing passed.
Some school districts are turning to educator prep programs to hire new teachers. Dysart Unified in the West Valley expanded its “Grow Your Own” teacher program to those interested in being a general education teacher this year. The district has had its program in place for the last two years, training teachers wanting to specialize in special education.
The state oversees these “Grow Your Own” educator programs. They must be approved by the state and ADE curriculum must be followed. The program allows people who already have a bachelor's degree in any field, switch careers and be trained by a school district to become an educator.
“It’s job-embedded training plus 150 hours of professional development outside of the school day in which we train our teachers to be effective in the classroom,” explained Jennifer Shernicoff, the educator coordinator for Dysart Unified's Ready2Teach program.
The district currently has 45 people in their program, about half of them are part of the new general education cohort, the other half is in special education.
For Naeli Ortiz, now a 6th-grade teacher going through the program, she said she received her bachelor’s degree years ago.
"I was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years and having the chance of being in a classroom and doing something that I love, it’s amazing. I feel like everyone should become a teacher. It’s incredible,” she told ABC15.
More districts are turning to educator prep programs, hoping to attract more educators to their schools. According to the ADE, in 2021, the state had three school districts with five programs. This year, it’s now at 22 districts with 50 programs. ADE also recently launched a teacher apprenticeship program with several school districts, hoping to increase the number of educators in the coming years.
“When you get to be in a classroom setting with so many students, it’s so challenging but wonderful, the fact that you get to be there for them. To teach them, to help them,” Ortiz continued. “A lot of them they need that. They don’t have that at home. For me to be able to provide that for them, even if it’s just for a small amount of time, I love it."
