MESA, Ariz. — We’ve heard how the pandemic has impacted just about every industry in the workforce and when it comes to education, it’s no different. The teacher shortage in Arizona schools is all too real.
In Mesa Public Schools alone, it’s estimated about 100 of the district's teachers left due to the pandemic, leaving the district in a bind.
Right now, the district is still 80 teachers away from being fully staffed, but a program aimed at filling teacher positions with people who have college degrees outside of education could be the solution.
“The pandemic of course has made a teacher shortage,” said Renee Parker, Mesa's director of human resources for certificated personnel. “We were already experiencing that before the pandemic, and this of course just elevated that.”
Over the past year and a half, the district has lost an estimated 100 teachers, so the district is spreading the word about its "Teacher in Residence" program. It's for people in the community who may not have a teaching degree, but have a bachelor’s degree in another field. By completing the district's program, they can become a certified teacher.
“That program allows them to be a student at the same time that they’re full-time employees," Parker said.
Franklin Junior High teacher Bill Meek went through the residency program to get his credentials.
“I had a bachelor's and a master's, but I didn’t have the educational certification,” Meek said.
The program enabled him to get the requirements he needed to start teaching world languages, something friends knew he was cut out for from the time he was in high school.
Meek now considers his career to be more than rewarding.
“Because students are neat,” Meek said. “I mean you have to look out there and see that they’re the future and if you can help them avoid some of the pitfalls that we went through.... then I think that’s a great thing to do.”
Parker, who’s had a 25-year career in Mesa as a teacher and principal, echoed Meek's words with some extra encouragement for others to consider following in his footsteps.
“There are individuals out there who have that knack for teaching,” she said. “They used to line up their teddy bears and dolls and start teaching to them when they were young… they just didn’t think that was a profession to go into. This gives them that opportunity to grow and then do that inspiration that they had.”
Right now, Mesa has 85 employees taking part in the program. Parker hopes to grow that number every day.
“Our goal is always, never to have a teacher opening,” she added.
Prospective candidates interested in becoming a teacher but still need the credentials can find more information about Mesa's Teacher in Residence program on the district's website.
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