TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Local schools are a month into the school year and several teacher vacancies in districts across the Tucson area have yet to be filled.
TUSD is at 91 vacancies, Marana is at 19, Catalina Foothills is at 6, and Flowing Wells is at 3. Tucson Education Association President Margaret Chaney said the stress this puts on teachers is not helping the shortage.
“So you can’t say to young people or people who have other careers, ‘Hey, come to teaching because great things are happening.” Because they’re not, because there’s a shortage. So it’s this weird cycle of events. And the shortages lead to sort of this demoralization of the position itself,” she said.
She said planning periods have not been guaranteed because of the need to fill classrooms, which brings stress to teachers and students.
“A lot of the creativity teachers used to be able to embed in their lessons, has been pulled away,” she said.
She described hallways as having less joy than at the start of her career, and this strain has unfortunately been impacting students as well. She said the students receiving the least attention from staff members due to the shortage are special education students.
She hopes change will lift the impact of teacher shortages, but until then she said things are likely to remain the same.
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Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
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