Katie Hobbs launches survey to help retain teachers in Arizona

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — The new school year started Wednesday for many students and staff in the Valley, but there is still a teacher shortage plaguing our districts in Arizona. Gov. Katie Hobbs launched a task force to get a better grasp of the problem, and they’re sending out surveys to study why so many teachers are leaving out state.

“We need to have a hard conversation about not just professional pay but benefits when it comes to what kind of health care we are afforded,” said Marisol Garcia, President of the Arizona Education Association.

Garcia said as of March, there were nearly 2,000 teaching positions open across Arizona. She said many teachers are leaving for other states like New Mexico, Nevada and California, where pay is more competitive. “There are very few teachers who have any provided healthcare for any of their children. We don’t have leave available when we have children,” said Garcia.

Kelley Fisher has been in education for 25 years and teaches kindergarten at Deer Valley Unified School District. Fisher said the culture wars within public education are also leading to burnout and driving teachers away. “One minute we are not doing enough social-emotional learning, and then the next minute it is considered indoctrination,” she said. “It is very difficult to hear all of those things but to know the truth of what is happening in our classrooms.”

The teacher survey is online and open until August 31st. The task force will make policy change recommendations to Hobbs based on the feedback.

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