teaching jobs (Phoenix, Yuma, Flagstaff: relocating, real estate, budget)

[michele miller]

I currnetly live in NY and am thinking of relocating to arizona. probably the Phoenix area, definitely a suburb thereof. any info on the job market for teachers out in that area or resources for such would be greatly appreciated
thank you all

[diggitydot]

Dysart SD in Surprise is hiring teachers like mad. (They're opening 3 or 4 new elementary schools next school year.) It's in the far NW valley, but is a pretty cute community if you don't mind suburbia. There's a community water park that costs something like $.50 for Surprise residents, a great little library, spring training MLB camp at the Surprise Stadium, lots of restaurants and shopping, and the school district is pretty proactive.

We have three kids in the schools in Dysart and have been very pleased with their experiences.

[brittZ]

Here is the link to reciprocity certification. http://www.ade.az.gov/certification/ReciprocityRequirements.pdf (broken link)

Also, almost every district in the valley is really looking for teachers. you should have no problem.

[Nice Nice Baby!]

True, although most districts in the metro area require you have an AZ license first before hiring. They want everything a go before letting you sign the contract, because many positions need to be filled and the administrators have no time to wait for paperwork to clear. Get your AZ license first. That will make you more marketable and show you are serious about moving.

[sfw1979]

Yuma Arizona need teachers in a bad way!! Yuma is 2 1/2 hrs west of Phoenix. A good amount of the teachers there are from the mid-west.

[LBear]

The Northern Arizona area is in a HIRING FREEZE!
Prescott USD, Humbolt USD & Chino Valley USD are in a hiring freeze. Not only that, but they were on the cover of the paper as being the LOWEST paid SD in the entire nation!

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Pettrix

The Northern Arizona area is in a HIRING FREEZE!
Prescott USD, Humbolt USD & Chino Valley USD are in a hiring freeze. Not only that, but they were on the cover of the paper as being the LOWEST paid SD in the entire nation!

Hmm. I checked the Prescott USD website and there is no mention of a hiring freeze. In fact, it looks like about 50 positions, both teaching and classified, are advertised for the coming school year.

[Nice Nice Baby!]

I agree. Never had I heard of such a thing as a hiring freeze in an area where growth occurs. Being a former teacher I have heard of freezing pay increases, but it's impossible to keep a school open without hiring replacements for turnover and retirements. Any where you go in the state of AZ the pay is going to be low compared to eastern and northern states.

[LBear]

Well, please read this:

http://prescottdailycourier.com/main...SectionID=&S=1

That will shed the light on WHY there are job openings now in those districts. They posted a HIRING FREEZE per the HUSD superintendent a couple of months ago. There is a HUGE turnover happening. WHY?? Well, the above article will shed more light on the problems here. So, no NEW jobs are being added, they are just attempting to fill positions that teachers have left the area. The growth here has slowed A LOT, compared to what it was 1-2 years ago. They are having a hard time selling real estate. Too many homes, not enough buyers...

MEDIAN HOUSING for Prescott = $600K
Salary of K-8 teacher = $28K

Hmm... not a good equation

California -
MEDIAN HOUSING in Anaheim = $600K
Salary of K-8 teacher = $70K+

A much better difference in pay and housing. Remember, Prescott built itself on the rich and retired. It was built on So Cals escaping California with deep pockets. They came, bought low and got 10x more home for their money. Now, it has become overpriced.

[Nice Nice Baby!]

Years ago the state budgeted automatic increases for teachers, and I don't know why they went away from that. The article isn't unique to Prescott as it's echoed across all rural areas in Arizona, but especially so in places like Prescott and Flagstaff because of the high cost of housing. Police also fight with this same issue. Teaching was fun for the time I did it, but teachers are always being abused by the system. Not many stay in it for very long and they can always hire a new transient teacher for $30k to replace a higher paid employee. Not in the best interest of educating children, but because of budgeting woes it happens. Nice article!