Shortage puts uncertified teachers in Arizona classrooms
When Cesar Aguirre learned his daughter’s first-grade teacher had resigned in the middle of the school year, he was alarmed.
That turned to dismay as weeks passed and Jasmine — whose speech delay affected her reading ability — started falling behind.
Now a third-grader, Jasmine emerged from the experience relatively unscathed. But Aguirre remains concerned that Arizona has such a tough time fulfilling his modest expectations for his daughter’s classroom: a certified teacher who would stick around all year and could meet her educational needs.
That’s more than many Arizona children can expect. Public schools statewide are struggling to fill vacancies as they attract fewer new teachers and more experienced ones retire or leave the profession for more lucrative careers. Teacher say low pay, long workdays, a lack of professional respect and opportunities elsewhere are luring them away from a field they love.
As a result, thousands of kids may find themselves in classrooms without a certified teacher this fall.
“When you put all of these things together, it’s sort of a perfect storm,” said Cecilia Johnson, a state Education Department executive whose official title is associate superintendent of highly effective teachers and leaders. “We do believe we are in a crisis.”
HELP WANTED
Tucson-area school districts had 217 vacant teaching positions as of July 17, an Arizona Daily Star investigation found.
Elementary schools accounted for over a third of the vacancies. Teacher jobs in math, science, English, special education, physical education and media arts also went unfilled.
Statewide, districts and charter schools needed special education teachers the most. Thirty-seven percent of respondents in a 2014 Arizona School Administrators survey said they needed special ed teachers. Second on the list was high school math teachers, at 18 percent.
The Tucson Unified School District, the area’s largest, had more than 100 vacancies before the 2015-2016 school year began. The district is trying to find certified teachers for those posts, but for now it is partnering with long-term substitute teachers to provide a semblance of consistency.
Long-term subs, however, can work only 120 days at one site — 60 days short of a 180-day school year. Exceptions can be made if a substitute is highly qualified.
The ideal is to place someone familiar with the subject matter, but if that’s not possible, certified teachers often share or write lesson plans to help. Principals also work to ensure instruction is up to par.
“Having quality adults in front of children is really the core of our business,” said Steve Holmes, superintendent of the Sunnyside Unified School District. “Being fully staffed is mission-critical.”
The district, which had 40 vacant teaching positions as of July 17, works with teaching students earning certification through programs such as the New Teacher Project and through Pima Community College and University of Arizona South, he said.
FLEEING THE PROFESSION
Nearly 4,500 teachers left Tucson-area districts in the last five years, Star research shows.
A key reason is the size of teachers’ paychecks. State Education Department data show that teacher salaries in Arizona and in the Tucson area have not changed much in the past five years. Several local districts froze pay in the face of increasing budget cuts.
That’s part of what has driven away teachers like Lissa Keegan, who taught special education in the Vail Unified School District. She left teaching in May after 15 years and moved to Oregon to take a job as a technology consultant for a school district in Portland County.
The new job comes with a hefty salary jump, she said, not to mention all the resources the district has for students with special needs — something she said she did not have in Vail.
“If you’re a first-year teacher, Hobby Lobby pays more now,” she said. “If you work at Hobby Lobby, you don’t have grading to do after.”
Starting teacher salaries in Tucson average about $32,000 a year, which is higher than it was five years ago for all Tucson-area districts but Tanque Verde, where starting teachers are earning about $200 less than they were.
While the pay has not increased, the workload has. Stacy Haines, who taught English and journalism in the Sunnyside Unified School District, said teachers were increasingly expected to Shortage puts uncertified teachers in Arizona classrooms:
Top 5 reasons for teachers leaving jobs in AZ
1. To pursue a position in another district or charter
2. Pay scale
3. To pursue another career outside of education
4. To pursue a position in another state
5. Working conditions
Data source: 2014 Arizona School Administrators Association Survey
Top 5 obstacles in recruiting out-of-state teachers
1. Salary
2. Arizona state certification
3. Location of state
4. Cost of moving/Arizona education funding rank
5. Arizona politics
Data source: 2014 Arizona School Administrators Association Survey