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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona education officials are hoping a six-figure grant will make a dent in the state’s teacher shortage crisis.
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The Arizona Department of Education said Tuesday that a $300,000 grant is being used to expand its existing teacher apprenticeship and mentoring program.
The money will be used during the next two years and will support roughly 100 apprentices and mentor teachers across Arizona.
“This is excellent news because recruiting, training and supporting teachers is vital and the teacher shortage has reached catastrophic proportions. These funds will be used to expand our already-robust efforts to help bring more teachers into the profession and retain those valuable educators currently in the classroom,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said in a statement.
The National Center for Grow Your Own awarded the grant to the department. The money comes from Ascendium Education Group, a private nonprofit.
The grant will help expand teacher apprenticeship programs so more future educators can become licensed without paying the high cost of a traditional pathway.
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It also aims to create the policies and support systems needed to make those programs last. State leaders say this approach could improve teacher preparation while cutting the cost of getting a teaching degree.
“We have developed and implemented numerous ‘alternate pathways’ for those who did not go to education college but have the content knowledge needed to teach. We must also continue to push for more help for educators by increasing teacher pay using State Land Trust funds with no new taxes, and ensuring school administrators support teachers on classroom discipline, the two major issues that teachers cite as reasons to leave the profession,” Horne said.
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