PHOENIX — Governor Hobbs has prioritized the improvement of educator retention in Arizona and many teachers are looking forward to what is to come.
Lisa Somers has been teaching for 22 years.
"I have to work seven days a week to pay rent (and) support my daughters," said Lisa Somers, a Valley teacher.
She moved to Arizona in 2018. At that time, she was making enough to support herself, but then, her family grew.
"I ended up adopting my two daughters. My one daughter was in my fourth-grade class... and we all fell in love with each other," said Somers.
She now works two other jobs to make ends meet and said Governor Hobbs' actions to help educators means a lot to her.
"A lot of these concerns have just been ignored for too long," said Gov. Hobbs.
The Educator Retention Task Force was created in February which includes educators, administrators, parents, and experts from across the state.
The task force has been holding meetings and working closely with Arizona State University and the Hunt Institute on a study that engaged 10,000 education professionals. The data was used to understand the issues affecting retention.
On Tuesday, the group discussed the recommendations being made to the Governor's office, including raising pay for educators and support staff.
"Ensuring that educators have an opportunity to have a work-life balance and are compensated like professionals and all of the work that they do," said Sarah Tolar, a former educator on the task force.
Sarah Tolar recently left the profession and is now a part of the task force. She focused on improving working conditions, like decreasing class size and workload.
"My most recent experience was in leadership and the responsibilities put on our school leaders and wanted to be part of how we can make that better for them," said Tolar.
Recommendations also include improving healthcare and benefits, on top of creating a Governor's Teacher Advisory Committee.
"Really support teachers and give them a voice and make them the professionals that they are," said Zel Fowler, an educator on the task force.
Fowler was a 2023 Arizona Top 10 Teacher of the Year and was selected to be on the task force.
"We really developed the things that we thought was necessary for incoming educators so that they are sustained in the profession," said Fowler.
Somers said she is grateful, knowing she has support from the state.
"We're in it to make every child a better person. Anything will help," said Somers.
The governor said she supports the recommendations but that it will take time for them to become a reality.
