Survey: Teacher Shortage Continues In Arizona

Published: Wednesday, September 5, 2018 - 1:22pm
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On Wednesday afternoon, educators planned to gather outside of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce to protest the group that funded the efforts to stop the Invest in Education initiative that would have put a tax on the state’s richest people to help fund education in our state.

Last week, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the initiative would not be on November’s ballot after the chamber challenged the effort on multiple fronts.

The Invest in Ed effort, as well as the larger #RedForEd movement this year came in response to a broader education funding battle in our state. Arizona teachers rank among some of the lowest paid in the country, and there has been an ongoing teacher shortage for years.

And, a new report shows that the teacher shortage in our state’s K-12 schools remains ongoing.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association surveyed schools across the state, and found that 25 percent of teacher vacancies across the state remain unfilled. And, almost half of the vacancies are filled by teachers who do not meet the state’s certification requirements.

For more on what exactly they found, and what they think needs to be done about it, The Show spoke with Laura Elizondo. She’s the president-elect of ASPAA and the human resources director for the Avondale Elementary School District.

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