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Teacher
Shortage: Fact or Fiction?
This
year the Paradise Valley Unified School District experienced more
vacancies for
a longer period of time than in past years. We currently have 51
teachers
employed with Emergency Teaching Certification for positions in K–12
Special
Education, Secondary Math, Science, English, Family and Consumer
Science, and
English Language Learner positions. In
addition, we have 10 teachers employed with Emergency Certification for
Special
Education Preschool classes. We are
analyzing all the factors that might be responsible for this situation
in order
to make effective changes. Our
immediate goal is to find quality, certified teachers for the spring
semester
of 2005-06 and for 2006-07. If you have
taught before and might be interested in returning to the honorable
teaching
profession, the Human Resources Department would love to talk with you
about
your options. If you possess a
bachelor’s degree and are interested in obtaining a substitute
certificate
and/or a teaching certificate, here are some steps you could take
initially: 1.
Obtain
a fingerprint card from the Department of Public Safety §
Make an
appointment with a technician in our HR department to get your
fingerprints
taken. §
Send
your
fingerprint card and a check for $52.00 in the envelope provided to the
Department of Public Safety. Your
request will be processed and a card mailed to you in approximately
three to
four weeks. 2.
Obtain
an official copy of your college transcript 3.
Meet
with the Department of Education with your official transcript and
fingerprint
card in hand. §
Call the
Department of Education at 602-542-4367 (ext. 7) and schedule an
appointment to
meet with a technician to review your transcript. §
If you
are
qualified for a teaching or substitute certificate, it will be issued
at that
time OR §
The
technician
will tell you what steps you need to take to be able to teach in the
area in
which you are interested. Be sure to
get the technician’s name in case you have questions later. If
you are
interested in teaching Preschool or Kindergarten, you will need to
apply for an
Early Childhood Certificate or Endorsement as soon as possible. If you have a minimum of three years
experience in Early Childhood (birth to eight years), you may qualify
for this
endorsement this year. A test of
content knowledge for Early Childhood will be required in the fall of
2006.
Check the following web site for more information:
http://www.ade.az.gov/certification/requirements/default.asp Arizona Department of Education has also developed an Alternative Secondary Path to Certification (ASPC) for secondary teachers and a Teacher Preparation Program (TPP) for elementary teachers and is working with state colleges and universities and school districts to allow those who already have a bachelor’s degree to be in the classroom while earning their credits for teacher certification. If you are interested finding out more about either of these programs, you may want to attend the District’s information meeting scheduled for Monday, December 5, 2005. Please call my office at 602-867-5138 for details about this meeting or for answers to any questions that you may have. |