Synopsis

Low pay, burdensome requirements and a lack of respect for the profession are driving teachers from classrooms across the United States and nowhere is that impact more evident than in Tucson, Ariz., where teacher vacancies are at an all-time high. Arizona teachers work an average of 57 hours a week and are the lowest paid in the nation. Many face daunting challenges to educate children in high poverty districts who arrive in their classrooms with significant achievement gaps.

With decades of research showing that the quality of the teacher in the classroom has the most significant impact on student achievement, the high rate of teacher turnover threatens the quality of education all children receive. Fortunately there are teachers who excel despite the challenges but they do so at a significant personal cost.

TEACHING IN ARIZONA follows three Tucson educators to deliver an intimate portrait of what it’s really like to be a teacher today. It also depicts the impact of the teacher workforce crisis on the future generations that will influence the prosperity of a state and a nation.