Highlights
- The Arizona Department of Education received a $300,000 grant from the National Center for Grow Your Own to address the state's teacher shortage.
- More than 1,000 Arizona teachers have left the profession since July 2025, and over 4,000 positions remain vacant or filled by long-term substitutes.
- Funds will be distributed over two years to support about 100 teacher apprentices and mentors through existing programs.
- Arizona joins Vermont and Wisconsin as the three states selected for the grant, which targets debt-free pathways into teaching.
The Arizona Department of Education landed a $300,000 grant from the National Center for Grow Your Own (NCGYO), a nonprofit under the Ascendium Education Group, to shore up the state's teacher pipeline. The funds will flow over two years into existing teacher apprenticeship and mentoring programs, supporting roughly 100 apprentices and mentors across Arizona, as KTAR and azcentral both reported earlier this week.
The backdrop is stark: since July 2025, more than 1,000 Arizona teachers have left the profession, citing low pay and lack of administrative support, according to ADE. More than 4,000 teacher positions are currently filled by long-term substitutes or sit empty.
NCGYO's stated goals for the grant include preparing licensed teachers through apprenticeship programs that leave participants debt-free, building state infrastructure to sustain programs beyond philanthropic cycles, and expanding access in rural school districts where earning a teaching degree can be a financial barrier to entry.
NCGYO CEO David Donaldson said in a press release that the organization looks forward to working with leadership teams in Arizona, Vermont, and Wisconsin, the three states selected, to build "high-quality, debt-free pathways into the teaching profession."
State Superintendent Tom Horne, who heads ADE, called the shortage situation dire. "This is excellent news because recruiting, training and supporting teachers is vital and the teacher shortage has reached catastrophic proportions," Horne said in the same release. "These funds will be used to expand our already-robust efforts to help bring more teachers into the profession and retain those valuable educators currently in the classroom."
ADE is expected to begin dispersing funds within the two-year grant window; no specific start date was disclosed in the announcement.
Where to find them
- Ascendium Education Group · ascendiumeducation.org
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- azpbs.org retrieved 13/06/2026 18:18
- ktar.com retrieved 13/06/2026 18:18
- AZ Central retrieved 13/06/2026 18:18
- Ascendium Education Group (official site) retrieved 13/06/2026 18:18
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 13/06/2026 18:18. Every claim traces to a source.
