Most Arizona teachers are unsung heroes. Let's thank them and tell their stories

They do their job.

Day in and day out, teachers go to work for our kids.

Without them, our state would have a bleak future.

Yet, too often, we overlook the critical work they do.

Teaching is not easy, especially now

Teaching is a tough job. We expect a lot from our educators.

Students’ academic skills vary much more now than they did a generation ago – and even more so since the pandemic. Students have lost academic progress almost across the board, most acutely in math.

Teachers have been tasked with identifying and filling those gaps in 20, 30 or more students, depending on the grade and school. And that’s just one of many hats that thousands of teachers across Arizona wear.

We often call on them to be counselors, social workers, janitors, fundraisers and diplomats.

Why it's a problem:Arizona teachers aren't as diverse as their students

The days can be long, the planning incessant.

And that’s to say nothing of the staffing shortages and curriculum debates that can make teaching feel like a game of Tetris. Or a walk on a tightrope.

Arizona needs effective teachers more than ever

But teachers are doing some of the most important work for our state’s future. Especially now, as schools emerge from a pandemic that upended education.

If we want our kids – our future workforce – to be strong and resilient, to solve problems, to think creatively (in addition to doing well on standardized tests), every classroom needs a highly effective teacher.

Not every classroom has one, unfortunately. Surveys suggest that more than one in four classrooms in Arizona lacks a permanent teacher.

But every school has teachers who work tirelessly to grow our kids. It’s important to thank them for what they do.

Here are just a few who do great work behind the scenes:

Jennifer Buchanan

Kindergarten teacher, Sunland Elementary, Phoenix

Kindergartners adore Jennifer Buchanan.

She understands them. She respects them.

You’d think that she always wanted to be a teacher. But that wasn’t the case.

Buchanan, now 44, had planned to be a lawyer when a seemingly routine college research paper about early childhood education changed her life. She learned how important an early start is, especially for low-income children like those she now teaches in south Phoenix.

She changed majors from justice studies to education, then taught five years in preschool and another nine in kindergarten – the last two in a school just blocks from the one she attended as a girl.

Last year, her first at Sunland Elementary, was rough. Buchanan was out with COVID-19 for all of November. When she returned, a student with special needs was struggling. Other students were behind academically. The campus was still closed to parents, and she hated that she had never met most of them.

Buchanan began to question why she was still teaching.

But she stuck it out. She saw the academic progress her students began making once she returned. Most of them did not attend preschool.

She joined a committee to help re-engage parents in school.

And before long it was clear again: This is right where she needs to be.

Karen Torres

Sixth grade language arts teacher, Challenge Charter School, Glendale

Karen Torres has retired twice from education.

And twice she has returned to classrooms in need of an experienced teacher.

Torres vowed as a child to avoid this line of work. Her mom spent her career teaching kindergarten. She wanted to do something different.

But that changed after college. Torres tried substitute teaching – and spurred a lifelong passion for educating middle schoolers.

She has taught for 32 years, more than half at Challenge Charter School in Glendale, where she also was a team leader, mentor and assistant principal.

Torres had planned to move out of state when she retired the first time; she stepped away for the second time when her mother became ill.

Now, in her third tenure at Challenge, it’s not unusual for her to put in 12-hour days.

Torres, 53, doesn’t mind. She loves teaching sixth graders.

But if the school needs her to fill another role, she says, she’d do it in a heartbeat.

“It’s about the kids. Kids come first. That’s why I’m on this train.”

Doug Ragels

Biology teacher, Cibola High School, Yuma

It’s hard to find people with math or science degrees to teach in rural Arizona.

It’s even harder to retain them.

That makes Doug Ragels somewhat of an anomaly. He spent roughly three decades teaching biology at a high school near Wellton and now drives about 40 miles, one-way, to teach it in Yuma.

Ragels didn’t intend to spend a career in rural schools. He earned a degree in wildlife biology with dreams of working for the Game and Fish Department.

Ragels landed a job instead with tiny Antelope Union High School, where he coached sports and taught multiple generations to ask questions, just down the hall from his wife, who was also a science teacher.

The couple decided to retire once the pandemic hit, but Ragels quickly realized he wasn’t done. He now spends more than an hour driving each day to Cibola High School.

It’s a big change. The classes are larger. He worried at first about being the “old guy” on campus.

At 62, Ragels isn’t sure how long he’ll teach. But he knows something for sure: “I’ve had more of an impact being in a classroom than I ever would have had out in the field by myself.”

Mark Campbell

Business teacher, Mountain Pointe High School, Phoenix

Mark Campbell teaches teens how to write a resume and engage in an interview. He coaches them on how to effectively manage their time.

But Campbell’s business lessons go far deeper than that.

With a few words or a simple question, he can spur a conversation about students’ values, their purpose and where they fit in the world.

Not surprisingly, he is often asked for advice. Much of it is job related – Can my boss ask me to work past 10 p.m.? Should I quit my job for one that pays less but offers more hours? – but not all.

Campbell, 49, has helped walk students through relationships. He has helped other teachers better connect with African American students.

A native of Jamaica, Campbell studied business in college and worked in that world for a few years, until it felt too cutthroat.

After 16 years in the classroom, he still considers himself an introvert. But his presence looms large on campus, particularly for students of color.

“I may be the only positive voice that these kids are seeing on a daily basis,” Campbell said. “I’ve got to remember that.”

Reach Allhands at joanna.allhands@arizonarepublic.com. On Twitter: @joannaallhands.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona teachers are unsung heroes. Let's tell their stories