PHOENIX — As we begin a new year, ABC15's Nick Ciletti is sitting down with Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia to find out what issues are plaguing teachers and students the most across our state, and to find out what she thinks we can do to make the situation better.
Ciletti: "What would you say is the single biggest issue facing educators in our state?"
Garcia: "The fact that they are being exploited, and I will explain that as a veteran educator. When I first moved to Arizona, there were fewer expectations of me than there are for a new educator walking in in 2023."
President Garcia sat down with ABC15 earlier this month to discuss what she thinks is causing teachers to leave the classroom. Part of the problem, she says, is more and more expectations.
"The more and more that's being put on our shoulders, I am not being paid more and I'm not being spoken to more. I'm not at the table more. The exploitation is really the burnout you're seeing."
She goes on to discuss how teachers are expected to multitask like never before and are mandated to perform tasks outside the classroom that take away from instructing our kids.
But increased responsibility and a pay scale that's not keeping up are just some of the reasons Garcia says our state is having a hard time attracting more top-tier teachers — and it's those veterans, more qualified educators, that Garcia says are part of the puzzle to rehab Arizona schools.
National estimates show anywhere from 40-50% of new teachers leave within the first few years of entering the profession.
"Having a teacher that has been in that community a very long time is a stabilizing factor in every student's life...It's a constant revolving door, even more so in underserved communities where students are living in poverty when they need the most support."
According to Garcia, currently, Arizona has roughly 2,000 teacher positions that are waiting to be filled.
In July 2022, Former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed SB 1159 into law, which relaxed requirements for new teachers, allowing educators to begin their careers before finishing their Bachelor's degrees.
At the time, he said on Twitter: "For the past eight years, we have made it a priority to give our kids a high-quality education, and this legislation builds on those actions. S.B. 1159 will ensure that more Arizonans have the opportunity to pursue a career in education and help get our kids caught up."
Some parents voiced concerns, wanting to keep standards high, while others supported the move, saying we need more teachers and we need them now.
Ciletti: "What do you say to parents who say we need someone? We need someone because districts all across Arizona and the U.S. are struggling to find teachers who are willing to do it. They might not have all the credentials we'd like, but at least they are willing to do it."
Garcia: "Well, I think if we put it the same as any profession. Would you take your car to someone who doesn't know how to fix it? Would you go to a doctor who doesn't have the background licensure to do that? Would you go to a store where someone doesn't have computer systems? This is a profession. And yeah, we can keep putting bodies into a room, but I don't think any parent wants it to be their kid. They are just hoping that it's happening somewhere else and so this is happening in Arizona every day... it doesn't mean they're bad folks, but we should be making sure those people are getting up to speed and having the proper credentials for that."