Arizona school districts are hurting for teachers.
Nora Ulloa is the HR director for the Fowler Elementary School District in southwest Phoenix.
“We have gone to every job fair there is and of course so has every other district, so we’re all there competing against each other," Ulloa said.
She said younger teachers are wooed by high salaries and an urban central-Phoenix location, two things her district can’t always promise. That’s left vacancies for the district, which started school last week.
Ulloa said they’re hiring teachers they may not have considered in the past.
“Teachers who are, in one way or another, on a provisional, or emergency certificate, or in the middle of doing what it takes to become teacher certified, and we’ve never had that before," she said.
Ulloa said at this point, those teachers are not considered highly qualified by the Arizona Department of Education. They can work toward their certificate while they teach this year.
Dr. David Santellanes is a teacher recruiter for the Cartwright District, which has about 50 vacancies. He said the district is using long-term substitutes, retirees and district administrators until more teachers are hired.
“Our kids are not going to be hurt by this in any way," Santellanes said. "We will never compromise the education of our kids in the Cartwright district.”
Despite shortages, Cartwright has not had to increase class sizes. Both Fowler and Cartwright Districts say they will continue recruiting until every classroom has a certified teacher.