Across Arizona, there is a quiet crisis playing out in our classrooms. It shows up in empty positions, long-term subs, teachers leaving mid-year, and a deep sense of exhaustion among those who stay. Behind the headlines and statistics are real people who love kids, love teaching, and are wondering how long they can keep going.

Researchers at the Morrison Institute for Public Policy recently surveyed more than 7,500 educators across every county in Arizona, and the results should make all of us — parents, business leaders, faith communities and neighbors — pay attention. Nearly seven in 10 current educators said they have considered leaving the profession in the past year. Many have already left, and thousands of classroom openings remain unfilled or are staffed by people who are not fully certified.

When asked how this could change, almost every educator in the Morrison Institute study named increasing salaries as a top solution. However, they also talked about something that every community can influence right now: respect, support and partnership. Large majorities called for adequate preparation time, manageable workloads, strong leadership and increased support from parents and community members — something 78% said would help them stay.

In conversations with teachers, principals and superintendents, many will tell you they want to be treated as the professionals they are. They describe a growing sense that they are blamed for systemic issues far beyond their control, while their daily acts of courage and creativity go unseen. There is also grief over how the narrative about education has shifted. And yet they keep showing up early, staying late, paying out of pocket for supplies, and doing the hidden, heart-level work of believing in kids.

Most teachers did not enter this profession expecting to get rich. They came because they believed in kids and wanted to make a difference. That sense of purpose is powerful — but it is not indestructible. Without support, encouragement and shared responsibility, even the most dedicated educators can burn out. This is where partnership comes in.

One powerful example is Arizona State University’s Next Education Workforce initiative. Instead of the traditional “one teacher, one classroom” model, ASU works with schools to build teams of educators — lead teachers, specialists, paraeducators and other partners — who share responsibility for groups of 50 to 100 students. In these models, teachers can specialize, collaborate and support one another, which research suggests improves both student learning and teacher retention. Teachers report more time for planning, better use of their strengths, and a stronger sense that they are not alone.

Partnership is also about neighbors, nonprofits, businesses and faith communities stepping into the story. This is where School Connect comes in.Our nonprofit exists to ask a simple but transformative question: How can the community help educators fulfill their dreams for their students?

Practically, that means bringing principals, teachers, parents and community leaders to the same table — literally. In School Connect’s CAFE conversations, educators share their school’s strengths, needs and dreams, while partners listen closely and ask how they can help. Out of these conversations, concrete partnerships are born: mentoring programs, STEM field experiences, mental health supports, after‑school opportunities, and practical projects that lift the load for teachers while investing in student success.

In each case, the impact is twofold. Students gain access to new resources, experiences, and caring adults. Educators gain something just as valuable: the sense that they are not invisible and not alone.

None of this minimizes the need for policy changes around pay, benefits and working conditions. Those are essential. But while those long‑term solutions are being developed, there is meaningful, immediate work that communities can do right now.

Communities can:

• Show up and listen: Ask principals and teachers what their real needs and dreams are, rather than assuming.
• Share resources: Align business expertise, nonprofit services, and faith community volunteers with specific school goals.
• Build teams: Support models where multiple adults share responsibility for students, rather than leaving one teacher alone in a classroom with every need.
• Speak life: Publicly affirm and celebrate educators, shifting the narrative from blame to gratitude.

Arizona’s teacher retention crisis did not appear overnight, and it will not be solved by any single policy or program. But every partnership, every act of shared responsibility, every community that answers “yes,” leads to something beautiful. Teachers remember why they stayed. Students begin to see what is possible. And schools become what they were always meant to be — the heartbeat of a community that cares.

Tracey Beal is the founder & CEO of School Connect, a community education organization.