Published
01-07-2016
With some 130 classrooms in the Tucson area being led by substitute teachers who often lack professional training, there is little school districts aren’t willing to do to get qualified teachers in the door.
As of Dec. 4, 84 Arizona districts reported more than 1,200 open positions halfway through the school year. Of those, 700 had been vacated since the start of school.
While cross-country recruiting trips, signing bonuses, loan forgiveness and other incentives are worthwhile efforts, they aren’t going to solve the teacher shortage in Arizona or anywhere else, an education expert says.
