For the past six years, the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association (ASPAA) surveys school districts and charters four weeks and four months into each school year. The December 2020 survey results confirm that there is little progress made to the severe teacher shortage in Arizona.
The recent data indicates about 27% of teacher vacancies across the state remain unfilled while about 47% of the vacancies are filled by teachers who do not meet the state’s standard certification requirements. These results reinforce the need to increase funding for public education.
Arizona teacher pay remains one of the lowest in the country, even with the recent education budget increase. Meanwhile, Arizona has one of the highest class size ratios in the country.
In addition to the continued teacher shortage, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted staffing in education. More…
