/ Modified feb 5, 2016 8:11 p.m.

AZ WEEK: Excellence in Classroom Amid Challenges

Teachers, experts and advocacy groups break down top education issues.

Education is a top issue for Arizona voters, according to a recent poll.

Yet the state ranks near the bottom on student achievement and funding. Arizona Week Friday looks to teachers, experts and advocacy groups for solutions.

On the program:

  • Ashley Curtis is a 5th grade teacher and was named one of Raytheon’s "Leaders in Education." “I know I’m a good teacher because when I go home I can tell you about any of my kids in my class,” Curtis said.

  • Expect More Arizona partners with businesses and groups from across the state on methods to improve education. CEO and President Pearl Chang says the state faces many challenges, from high school graduates not prepared for college to low-income children who enter kindergarten already behind.

  • More than one-fourth of Arizona teachers said they planned to leave the profession within five years. The Tucson Values Teachers survey echoes state and national research. “A key reason why teachers move from one school to another or quit teaching altogether is the issue of voice, having a say in the key decisions in the building that impact their jobs,” said Richard Ingersoll, a teacher retention expert at the University of Pennsylvania who recently spoke in Tucson.

  • Support Our Schools is a grassroots educational organization with more than 20 years of history in Arizona. Executive Director Jennifer Johnson said Arizona’s education system is challenged, but getting better. Johnson is a former deputy superintendent in the Arizona Department of Education.

  • Katie Rogerson, Tucson Values Teachers interim director, said pay and respect are top issues for local teachers. The organization publishes reports about teacher satisfaction, collects supplies and helps educators save money on supplies for their classroom.

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