MESA, AZ — Nearly 3,000 teachers are needed statewide to help fill gaps, according to a report from the Arizona School Personnel Administrator’s Association.
Efforts are slowly being made, but it continues to be a carousel of people leaving and new people coming into the field.
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The profession is all about the children, wanting to make sure they grow successfully.
Lupita Almanza went into teaching after being inspired by her own teachers back in the day. She wanted to be that for her own students.
“I fully intended to retire from my classroom like in front of my classroom, in a rocking chair, reading to the kids, books,” said Almanza.
She taught for 12 years and as those years went by, it started becoming more difficult.
She ultimately left her position last year and now works two part-time jobs while looking for a new career.
“My last year in the classroom was really hard to push through. We constantly, as educators, have to put on a brave face because we're in front of kids. We don't want them to feel the repercussions of a system that needs a lot of help,” she said.
Almanza said some of her teaching friends are also following in her footsteps. She says the politics that surround the classroom at times became too much.
“There are just personal attacks on teachers and people that are trying to fix the system. I think it’s not appropriate. It’s not going to get us anywhere,” Almanza said.
She also added that there is a lot of unpaid labor in the industry, and she can’t just leave work at work. She always went home having to worry about her job and how she could help her students.
“Each year is getting tougher and tougher. We're being asked to do more with less resources. I just got tired of feeling like I was letting myself down and my students down,” she said.
Almanza said making the decision to leave was hard. She said some days were more difficult than others, but ultimately it was the right choice.
While she needed to take that step back from teaching, others feel the call to step in.
Elena Sloboda, an Arizona State University teaching student, has heard all about the challenges the industry is facing. Regardless, she’s determined to make a difference, but hopes changes happen before she hits a breaking point like Almanza did.
“I know I was very impacted by the phenomenal teachers I had as a kid and it changed my life. If we don't have people doing that for today's kids, who will?” she questioned.
While she has a passion for the industry now, she is afraid it will not keep her in the field forever.
“I think it is very concerning going into the profession knowing that the school I graduated from and the school I go into will look very different,” she said.
