Arizona state legislators set to shadow public school teachers

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — More than 30 Arizona state legislators will soon get the chance to see for themselves what exactly goes on in a public school classroom.

Thanks to the Arizona Educational Foundation’s Take Your Legislator to School initiative, legislators throughout the state will spend time shadowing teachers from kindergarten up to 12th grade this September. The program has seen over 200 teachers invite state legislators into their classroom during three years of operation.

“With so much talk of education and changes in education policy on TV and in the news, I believe it’s my duty to keep the door open to any elected official,” said TYLTS veteran Jonathan Parker of Thunderbird High School in a press release. “At the end of the day, there’s a big gap between what we do in the classroom and what legislators discuss on the floor. I want to be a part of the solution to closing that gap.”

Teachers and legislators are matched based on their legislative district. Time spent between the two parties can vary with each school, however, the average visit lasts anywhere from two to four hours.

For more information about the Take Your Legislator to School initiative, or how to invite a legislator into your classroom, email Maggie Zehring at maggie@azedfoundation.org.