Teaching And Living In Az (Phoenix, Chandler: foreclosures, rent, mortgage)

[ean85]

I'm new to the site and I was just wondering if anyone had information on what it's like to be a teacher in AZ.

My fiance has his bachelors degree in History with a minor in political science and only has a year left in finishing up his certification courses in Secondary Education, with certifications in: history, political science, and social studies. We're from Michigan, which is one of the top producers of teachers in the country, and there is NO job market here for him. We've already accepted that we will have to move out of state for him to find a job, and he's had advisors and friends in the program tell him that NC, SC, FL, and AZ are pretty "desperate" for teachers. So, I just had a few questions:

1) Does AZ really hire teachers who aren't even certified? (that's what's going around the rumor mill here)

2) What is the pay like there for teachers? (Michigan teachers are the 5th best paid teachers in the country, how does AZ compare?)

3) What's the cost of living like down there? (I'm just assuming it's more expensive than here in Michigan)

4) What are your winters like? (personally I HATE snow, so anywhere that doesn't get a lot is alright in my book)

5) What's the housing market like there? (Michigan has the third highest foreclosure rate in the country right now)

6) And overall, do you like living in AZ? (We just want to start a life and raise a family in a place that doesn't have such a bleak future, like Michigan's is shaping up to be)

Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated!!!! And I'm sorry if all of this has been asked before.

[mesanative]

Well, I have been a teacher in Arizona. Some charter schools will hire teachers who are not certified. Public school districts will not. Starting pay, well, it would be nearly impossible to survive on that one salary for a family. Cost of living is not bad, as far as groceries, gas, utilities, etc. but rent and housing prices climbed much faster than wages over the last few years. Winters here are wonderful! Green grass, flowers. Christmas day is often 70 degrees. It can get chilly, rainy sometimes, but no snow or ice at all in the Phoenix area. It's the summers that you have to watch out for HOT HOT HOT!! Extremely hot, and it doesn't cool down at night at all in July & August. It's hot from May to October. And certain parts of the Phoenix area are overrun with illegals from Mexico. It is frustrating to get an automated call that says its an "important message" from your child's school and the message is given in Spanish FIRST!! But there are still lots of good, nice areas in each of the PHoenix metro cities. As far as bleak outlook, it's getting bleak everywhere. I don't think we can get away from it no matter where we choose to live. WE are having lots of foreclosures here too, house values are dropping. Builders way overbuilt certain areas, so the entire construction market is slumping now too. But I actually like Arizona. I've looked around and can't find a better place, really. We don't have any major pest problems, no snow, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. Just hot summers, which do bring the occasional sewer roach, disgusting, and illegals. Best of luck to you.

[Great Joy]

Originally Posted by mesanative

It is frustrating to get an automated call that says its an "important message" from your child's school and the message is given in Spanish FIRST!!

Wow! I haven't thought of that. I guess maybe some areas need that, but I'm thankful our schools only communicate in English.

[RetiredAZTeacher]

I taught high school in AZ for 25 years. Teachers may be hired if they are non-certified if they are in a vocational area and have a provisional certification and are working on their "real" cert. My school has also hired provisional math teachers who then work on their certification during the year....Our area was DESPERATE for Math and Special Education teachers.

Social Studies openings were few and far between for our school district...those people tend to hang around many years! If you and your husband find an opening in Social Studies/History in an area you like...I suggest you grab it!

AZ doesn't pay great, but our cost of living is cheaper than many areas, too. Our school district the salary was $29,000-$62,000 (first year teacher to 20-year plus Master's degree teacher). I've been retired for 2 years, so the pay may be more now.

As to housing, although Phoenix is one of the big cities who is suffering from the housing problem now, many of the places outside Phoenix (i.e., Flagstaff, Prescott area, Verde Valley area) have not reduced their prices as much. I would suggest renting a place for a while unless you find some 'smokin'' deal in an area hurt by the housing/mortgage problem.

As to weather...I always tell people that Arizona is really like 2 different states. The southern area (Phoenix on down) is a desert and hot & dry whereas the northern area (Cortes Junction or Payson on up) is mountainous and can be cold in winter and hot/warm in summer. This main site (city-data.com) is great for finding that stuff out. Just put in the city you are interested in and you'll find out more than you ever wanted to know about weather, population, cost of living, ethnicity, etc. of a place.

I've always lived in the northern part of AZ (Verde Valley-Cottonwood, Sedona, Camp Verde, Flagstaff, Prescott) and have loved it. They are great places to raise a family, imo. You may have some snow, but nothing like MI.

This is a great site to see a complete list of all school districts in AZ:
School District Web Sites (the only negative is that the links take you to the individual school's website and some of them are pretty lame) Hopefully, if you find a school district you are interested in, their website should have some kind of link for employment info. Many schools list their Salary Schedule/Ladder online.

This is all my opinion...I know some people on this forum hate AZ schools, but I have never had a problem...although so many students not being able to speak English is a concern every year.

Good luck!

[sengle1013]

teaching min in Phx metro area i believe is about 38 to start, they've raised salaries quite a bit since the $29k per year number quoted,

from Chandler Unified Website

Minimum Salary $34,680Pay for Performance$2,300Customer Service Incentive $300 $37,280