ARIZONA NEWS

Arizona’s teacher shortage has reached ‘crisis levels,’ report finds

Apr 22, 2017, 7:59 AM | Updated: 9:52 pm

(Flickr/US Department of Education)...

(Flickr/US Department of Education)

(Flickr/US Department of Education)

PHOENIX — The teacher shortage in Arizona has hit “crisis levels” as the number of educators leaving the profession each year has outpaced the number of education degrees produced by the state’s public universities.

According to key facts from an upcoming report from Arizona State University, 42 percent of state teachers hired in 2013 left the profession within three years, while 74 percent of school administrators said their campuses are experiencing a shortage of teachers.

The report, titled Finding & Keeping Educators for Arizona’s Classrooms, is set to be fully released in May, but a two-page brief released Friday found quality education in the state is primarily hindered by poor salaries.

“When adjusted for cost-of-living, Arizona elementary school teacher pay is the lowest in the nation. High school teacher pay ranks 48th of the 50 states,” the report brief found.

Dan Hunting, a senior policy analyst with the university and the principal researcher of the report, said not having experienced and qualified teachers in the state hurts more than just students.

“Education drives everything. Qualified workers is the No. 1 driver of economic traction,” Hunting said. “If a third of our teachers are in the first three years of teaching, that means a large number of our teachers are not the veteran, experienced teachers who you’d expect to do a good job.”

Steve Seleznow, the president and CEO of Arizona Community Foundation, called teacher pay and support, the factors causing state’s teacher shortage, a “proxy for how highly we think of students and their education.”

“When we undervalue our educators, we under educate our children,” Seleznow said in a press release. “If we value the education our children receive, we must provide teachers compensation commensurate with those values.”

KTAR’s Tom Perumean contributed to this report.

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here.

Arizona News

Desert Ridge Marketplace place will be almost fully leased with the addition of four new tenants in...

Kevin Stone

Sephora, country bar among latest Desert Ridge Marketplace additions

Desert Ridge Marketplace place will be almost fully leased with the addition of four new tenants in the next year.

5 hours ago

(Facebook Photo/Phoenix Police Department)...

Brandon Gray

Phoenix police updates Use of Force policy, asks for more input

The Phoenix Police Department has updated its Use of Force policy and they are asking the public and employees for more input.

5 hours ago

(Flickr Photo/ADOT)...

KTAR.com

East Valley drivers to be hit hard with weekend freeway closures

Drivers in the East Valley will be the most prone to weekend freeway closures, according to state transportation officials.

5 hours ago

(Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images and Facebook Photo/Gilbert Farmers Market)...

KTAR.com

Weekend guide: Here are the biggest events around metro Phoenix for June 9-11

Looking for something to do this weekend? There's national outlet shopping day, farmers markets and events celebrating Pride month.

5 hours ago

Phoenix fire crews work to put out large pallet fire in the area of 35th Avenue and Lower Buckeye R...

Brandon Gray

Fire crews battling large pallet fire in south Phoenix

Phoenix firefighters are currently working a second-alarm pallet fire in the area of Thursday night at 35th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road. 

1 day ago

(Pixabay photo)...

KTAR.com

4 Valley residents sentenced to prison for COVID aid fraud

Four Valley residents have been sentenced for their roles in a COVID aid fraud scheme, authorities announced Thursday.

1 day ago

Sponsored Articles

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

...

SANDERSON FORD

Thank you to Al McCoy for 51 years as voice of the Phoenix Suns

Sanderson Ford wants to share its thanks to Al McCoy for the impact he made in the Valley for more than a half-decade.

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...

Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.

Arizona’s teacher shortage has reached ‘crisis levels,’ report finds