Arizona's teacher shortage

Help inform our reporting on teaching conditions in Arizona by telling us your own experiences.

Arizona is in the midst of one of the biggest crises facing its public schools: drastic turnover and a shortage of qualified applicants that have left many schools across the state to fill positions with teachers who lacked formal training.

In June, The Arizona Republic gathered data from 162 Arizona school districts, accounting for 46,000 teachers and about 80 percent of the state's 1.1 million public-school students in the 2016-17 term.

Of those teachers, 22 percent lacked full qualifications. More than 130 school districts filled positions with teachers who lacked formal training.

The Republic also reported in December that 1,035 teachers in more than 120 school districts and charter schools across Arizona had been certified to teach through an Emergency Teaching Certificate. These certificates require at least a bachelor’s degree, but allow applicants to bypass nearly every other state certification requirement put in place to ensure teachers are qualified to lead a classroom.

We want to continue to hear from teachers – including those who are no longer in the profession.

The information you provide will be kept confidential. We will only share it if you give us permission.

To begin, click "request" on the right side of the page.