Arizona School Enrollment Up but Teacher Shortage in the Grand Canyon State Persists

Student enrollment in Arizona public schools appears to be rising after the COVID 19 wreaked havoc on the Grand Canyon state’s education system last year.

Unfortunately, the teacher shortage that has plagued Arizona education these last several years, has not dramatically changed course over the same time period.

Kindergarten sees the largest increase from last year. 

All grade levels have seen a preliminary grade increase from the 2020/21 school year.

Kindergarten has seen the largest increase with a surge of close to 16 percent (15.7.)

Grades nine and two saw about a 6.3 and 6.2 percent climb.

Grades six and seven had the smallest rise with a 0.1 and 0.5 increase.

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman, in a press release from the Arizona Department of Education, partially attributed the rise in enrollment to:

• The implementation of the Ready for School Arizona campaign which “involved a variety of community outreach methods including the creation of a website and hotline to provide resources and support for families as well as television and radio ads in both English and Spanish.”
• The funding of the School Safety Grant Program that fully provided for school counselor and social worker programs for the next two years.
• The Federal Government appropriating about four billion dollars to Arizona schools “to support academic acceleration, mental health support, and general recovery from the devastating impacts of COVID-19.”

Superintendent Hoffman relayed:

“We knew we needed a strategy to support student enrollment efforts happening at the local level. A statewide effort was needed to re-engage students and families—and these preliminary student count numbers show signs of success. While these are just preliminary numbers, the trends are encouraging, and we are hopeful for a much better official enrollment count this school year compared with last year.”

“Even with the bumpy and confusing school year, it’s clear families are ready to get back to their public schools. Fortunately, due to federal relief and recovery packages more public schools now have the resources they need to help students and families make that adjustment. It’s vitally important that we take COVID mitigation seriously so we can keep students learning in-person without disruption.” 

“This effort was about more than just getting students back in school – it’s about helping them heal and thrive. Our work is not done, but we are making progress.” 

Unfortunately, the Arizona Teacher Shortage Remains

While the news of rising enrollment is welcoming, the confirmation of the continuing teacher shortage in the Grand Canyon state is not.

A new report by the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association found that:

• 25.9 percent of teacher vacancies remain unfilled.
• 55.4 percent of instructor positions are filled with individuals who do not fully meet the state’s certification requirements.
• Since 2016, about 25 percent of teacher positions remain unfilled going into the first month of the school year.
• 160 teachers did not report for work at the beginning of this school year and another 124 left their positions shortly after.

Governor Doug Ducey, in reporting by the Arizona Capitol Times, maintained that Arizona is leading the way to combat the teacher shortage. He cited the twenty percent raise instructors received, the formation of the Arizona Teachers Academy, and alternative paths the state offers individuals to become teachers as two examples of how his administration has worked to address the lingering problem.

Superintendent Hoffman has a different perspective than Mr. Ducey, blaming the teacher shortage on the issues of salaries and uncertainty, caused by the Governor and his allies in the state legislature and courts, surrounding the fate of funding for Proposition 208-Invest in Education.

She commented:

“Arizona still ranks at the bottom of the list for teacher pay. And while the Governor’s 20×2020 plan was a much-needed infusion of new money for salaries, it simply did not go far enough. Until we have regionally competitive pay for our educators, all of our teacher recruitment and retention efforts will be overshadowed.”

Superintendent Hoffman is right.

While the twenty percent raise, the teacher academy, and alternative pathways for specialists are helpful, they only go part of the way to making education an appealing career choice for aspiring instructors in Arizona.

More also needs to be done to retain and reward the many fine educators who have braved the return to school with the Coronavirus still a major health concern in Arizona and across the country.

These heroes work more than 40 hours a week, endure larger than recommended class sizes, and often put their own money into purchasing needed items for their students.

Teachers deserve the higher salaries and other career enticing features promised by Proposition 208.

Hopefully, the courts will agree with the forces for public education and allow the funding stream for Proposition 208 to start flowing.

For the children returning to school and teachers working their hearts out, the time to fully fund Arizona public schools, make teaching an attractive profession in the Grand Canyon state, and build a better learning environment for all students is now.