By Matthew Holloway |

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced earlier this month that the Arizona Department of Education will receive $300,000 in grant funding to expand its teacher apprenticeship and mentoring program amid the state’s ongoing teacher shortage.

According to a statement from the Arizona Department of Education (AZED), the department is among the sub-recipients of grant funds awarded by the National Center for Grow Your Own (NCGYO) through the private, nonprofit Ascendium Education Group. AZED will receive $300,000 over the next two years to support approximately 100 apprentices and mentor teachers statewide.

“This is excellent news because recruiting, training and supporting teachers is vital and the teacher shortage has reached catastrophic proportions,” Horne said. “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.”

The department said the grant will expand AZED’s existing teacher apprenticeship and mentoring program. According to AZED, the Arizona Teacher Registered Apprenticeship Program prepares future educators through paid, hands-on classroom experience under the mentorship of experienced teachers while apprentices complete educator preparation coursework.

Horne said the state has developed alternate pathways for prospective teachers who did not attend an education college but have the content knowledge needed to teach.

“We have developed and implemented numerous ‘alternate pathways’ for those who did not go to education college but have the content knowledge needed to teach,” Horne said. “We must also continue to push for more help for educators by increasing teacher pay using State Land Trust funds with no new taxes, and ensuring school administrators support teachers on classroom discipline, the two major issues that teachers cite as reasons to leave the profession.”

The NCGYO said its National Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching Network includes states working to use registered apprenticeships in teaching to address educator shortages. According to the NCGYO, the network supports states and local partners as they develop registered apprenticeship pathways into the teaching profession.

According to AZED, NCGYO will provide technical assistance to participating states and local partners, including support with apprenticeship program registration, subgrant design and implementation, sustainability planning, and quality assurance.

The grant project’s stated goals include increasing the number of fully licensed teachers prepared through high-quality, debt-free apprenticeship programs; building state-level infrastructure and policy systems to sustain programs beyond philanthropic funding; and using the registered apprenticeship model to improve educator preparation while lowering the cost of earning a teaching degree.

Ascendium’s broader education philanthropy focuses on removing barriers for low-income learners and expanding postsecondary and workforce pathways.

NCGYO’s work sits within a broader national educator pipeline movement, promoted by some education policy groups as a tool to increase teacher diversity. A 2023 National Council on Teacher Quality report on policies to increase teacher diversity discusses “Grow Your Own” programs in that context and lists NCGYO founder David Donaldson as a contributor.

The AZED announcement describes the Arizona grant as funding teacher apprenticeships and mentor support and does not state that the funds are tied to a DEI program or mandate.

Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.