With new partnership, Phoenix Union wants to lower barriers to becoming a teacher

The Phoenix Union High School District has introduced an accelerated way to become an instructor in the district that can place teachers-in-training into their own classrooms in as little as a month.

The district has entered into a partnership with iteach, a national teacher certification program recently approved by the State Board of Education as an alternative educator preparation pathway for elementary, secondary and special education.

The iteach program is one of several alternative pathways aspiring educators can take to become teachers in Phoenix Union. It's an especially affordable and convenient option, said Deana Williams, a talent director in charge of recruitment and retention for the district.

To sign up, candidates must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with a GPA of at least 2.5.

Once admitted to the iteach program, candidates must take two introductory courses and state-mandated testing in a specific content area to receive alternative teacher certification. Then, they can interview with the school district and, if successful, be placed in the classroom.

Candidates can begin teaching in a classroom within as little as a month, said Kimberly Thaggard, iteach's western director.

In the candidate's first year of teaching, they take additional courses and receive periodic supervision from someone affiliated with iteach, often a former educator, Thaggard said.

The classes are virtual and self-paced, and the total cost is $4,399, with candidates able to pay $99 per month until they get a job, Thaggard said.

Phoenix Union wants to turn existing staff into teachers

The Phoenix Union partnership with iteach is an effort to reduce barriers to becoming a teacher. In particular, the district wants to make it easier for existing staff members to move into teaching roles.

"We're trying to bring in as many options for our staff as possible," said Williams, the Phoenix Union talent director. "We do want to create that pipeline and opportunity for our own staff members who are dedicated and invested in Phoenix Union to be able to pursue their own growth and education."

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The partnership is also a response to certified staff vacancies in the district. Certified staff members include teachers, counselors, social workers, school psychologists, nurses, athletic trainers and JROTC instructors.

"We started to see a pretty significant decline in interest" as the world was coming out of the height of the pandemic, Williams said. "It became more difficult to recruit and retain any staff in general."

The district has roughly 140 vacancies for certified staff, including about 25 special education vacancies, Williams said.

"I think we've used alternative pathway opportunities and emergency certifications more than ever before," she said. One especially popular alternative pathway option for Phoenix Union is Rio Salado College's post-college teacher-in-residence program, Williams said. Emergency certifications are granted by the Department of Education for "emergency employment" situations.

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There are also long-term substitutes filling in, who "aren't necessarily certified in the content" but are certified substitute teachers, Williams said. District teachers also teach additional classes through extended days — with extra pay — to cover vacancies.

Districtwide, there are five teachers with emergency certificates and 34 people teaching via alternative pathways out of roughly 1,640 certified staff members, Williams said.

Several alternative pathways to teacher certification

While traditional pathways to becoming an educator generally involve a bachelor's or master's degree in education or participation in post-college education programs through higher education institutions, there are several alternative pathways to teaching certification.

Many alternative pathways still involve coursework from a college or university. But some alternative pathways, like iteach, aren't connected to higher education institutions.

The cost of iteach is "much more reasonable than a university pathway," Williams said. Other non-college alternative pathways approved by the State Board of Education with prices available on their websites range from around $4,500 to about $10,000.

Phoenix Union is iteach's first official district partner in Arizona, though aspiring educators who want to work in other districts can also use it to receive alternative teaching certifications.

It's the only non-college or university educator preparatory program in the country accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, one of two major national educator preparatory program accrediting bodies. The program's biggest markets are in Texas and Louisiana, said iteach's Thaggard.

As part of the three-year partnership agreement, iteach will help recruit for the district, while Phoenix Union will advertise the program to its staff. The district is targeting employees in classified positions, which include safety assistants, instructional assistants, cafeteria staff and administrative specialists.

For Phoenix Union employees, after moving from a classified to a certified position, which includes teaching roles, the cost of the program would pay for itself in a year, Williams said. The base entry salary for teachers is $52,200, and the district's average teacher salary for fiscal year 2024 is $77,686.

"We just want to remove all the barriers for our staff members and for folks who come in that could be amazing teachers for us," Williams said, and "in turn help our students by having fully staffed classrooms."

Though the district hasn't received any candidates through iteach yet, at a recent district presentation, two people — a safety assistant and a substitute — applied to enroll in the program, Williams said.

Phoenix Union is planning an event in December to allow classified staff to meet with representatives from colleges, universities and other educator preparatory programs like iteach.

Madeleine Parrish covers K-12 education. Reach her at mparrish@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: From bachelor's to teaching in a month? What to know about iteach