Why Arizona teachers are staying despite salary concerns

PHOENIX — Despite widespread dissatisfaction with the state’s public education system, many Arizona teachers are staying out of love for their students, according to new research.

A new report from the Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy that surveyed over 7,500 Arizona teachers found that nearly two-thirds of them have considered leaving their jobs.

However, the desire to improve their students’ lives keeps them going, according to Kristi Eustice, the institute’s assistant research director.

“Educators care about their students, and they feel like they’re making a difference, so that’s what’s keeping them in the classroom,” Eustice told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Wednesday.

Many teachers feel that students’ needs have grown acutely since the COVID-19 pandemic, she added.

“Educators talked about student behavior and how they think they’ve seen an increase in student behavior challenges, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said. “They really talked about it from the perspective of needing more support staff, needing more help to get the students the support they need.”

Other reasons Arizona teachers are staying

Aside from loyalty to their students, a supportive administration can also help fight Arizona’s struggling retention rates, she added.

“School leadership can make a big difference in the classroom: having an administration that’s supportive and takes into account educators allows them to be in the room for decision-making,” Eustice said.

It can make a world of difference for Arizona teachers, many of whom cited low salaries and meager benefits as issues driving them out of the profession.

The struggles of being a teacher in the Grand Canyon state can have deleterious effects on an instructor’s mental health, according to Eustice.

“In our focus groups and interviews, we heard explicit mentions of things like anxiety and depression,” Eustice said. “There’s just kind of an overwhelming feeling of ‘there’s too much to do and not enough time to do it.’”