Teacher Talent Pipelines: Streamlining the Path from Student to Educator in Arizona

Introduction

One of our country’s most critical resources is in trouble. Communities are finding it difficult to manage its supply, putting the future of our country’s schools at potential risk. The resource—teachers. In schools and districts across the United States, principals and hiring managers face two major issues regarding the teaching workforce: adequate supply and retention of quality teachers.

One state, Arizona, identified a recent private sector innovation as a potential solution to teacher readiness and supply gaps, particularly within staffing a cohort of high-performing, high-poverty schools that need teachers ready to close gaps in student achievement. With this challenge before them, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry and its Foundation partnered with their A for Arizona education initiative to explore creative solutions to the teacher shortage. One such solution is Talent Pipeline Management (TPM), an initiative built on the principles of supply chain management from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) and USA Funds.

TPM is an innovative effort designed to help companies fill skilled positions and combat the growing national skills gap. It is rooted in the idea that ensuring a steady supply of a qualified and quality workforce requires employers to take on an expanded leadership role in education and workforce systems building flexible and responsive partnerships with training providers. The initiative is founded on strategies that inform and streamline sourcing, recruiting, and developing talent to meet employers’ needs. As part of the TPM initiative, USCCF brought together a number of pilot site partners, including Arizona, to explore the potential applications of these strategies. The full findings of the pilots are highlighted in Building the Talent Pipeline: An Implementation Guide.

Because TPM bridges the information and communications gaps between colleges, trainers, and employers, it holds great promise in addressing Arizona’s and other states’ challenges with the readiness and retention of teachers. As such, we jointly publish this case study in hopes that TPM strategies, as seen through the eyes of Arizona, will bring states answers to their teacher pipeline challenges and give teachers, students, and schools the pipeline they deserve.