Stories tagged: "Arizona Department of Education"


Buses line up outside Tempe High School in this 2021 file photo. Bus driver is just one of the positions that school administrators around the state say they have trouble filling, along with teachers, nurses, custodians, secretaries and more, as school salaries often can't compete with the private sector. (File photo by Kelly Richmond/Cronkite News)
Arizona Schools Struggle to Fill a Range of Jobs, in Classroom and Beyond

School staffers across Arizona may increasingly find themselves pressed to fill in on other jobs, as school districts struggle to fill positions across the board.

Westwood High School students make their way to classes, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022 in Mesa, Ariz. Like many school districts across the country, Mesa has a teacher shortage due in part due to low morale and declining interest in the profession. Five years ago, Mesa allowed Westwood to pilot a program to make it easier for the district to fill staffing gaps, grant educators greater agency over their work and make teaching a more attractive career. The model, known as team teaching, allows teachers to combine classes and grades rotating between big group instruction, one-on-one interventions, small study groups or whatever the team agrees is a priority each day. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Not Quite Universal, but Families Flocked to Universal Voucher Program

More than $200 million in state funds is expected to be transferred out of Arizona's public school system through the state's newly-expanded voucher program.

Kathy Hoffman (Photo courtesy of campaign)
Meet the Democratic Schools Superintendent Running to Improve Arizona’s Schools

Democratic schools superintendent candidate Kathy Hoffman says her priority if elected would be recruiting and retaining more teachers.

AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
School Superintendent Candidate Befriended, Defended Multiple Alleged Child Sex Criminals

Republican Tom Horne has repeatedly defended a child molester, voted against harsher penalties for statutory rape, and voted to reinstate a teacher who had been looking at pornography in the classroom.

Members of Save Our Schools Arizona protest at the Arizona School for the Arts as Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tours the school in Phoenix on Aug. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
Arizona School Vouchers—What They Are and How They Affect You

A new Arizona law allows any of the state’s 1.1 million students to pay for private schools using tax dollars set aside for the state education budget.

An empty lecture hall-style classroom with brown wooden chairs,  a wooden teaching podium and a blank chalkboard. Photo credit Pexels/Pixabay
No, Undergraduates in Arizona Cannot Teach Without a College Degree

While students without a bachelor’s degree can teach in certain situations, they must be supervised by a certified teacher and cannot be the teacher on record for the classroom.

Image via Unsplash
It’s Not Just Today—Arizona Schools Have Had Funding Issues for Decades

A 42-year-old amendment to Arizona’s constitution is proving to have dire effects on the state’s public school system.