Contact: Chris Chesrown
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Teacher Shortage to be Community Discussion at "Town Hall" Event

PHOENIX - On October 17, a number of education authorities will gather to examine the challenges and solutions in recruiting, preparing and retaining public school teachers. "Where Have All the Teachers Gone, Education In Crisis," is the topic of this quarter's Arizona Issues Forum, a series of public discussions aimed at addressing community concerns. The town-hall event at the Burton Barr Central Library, 1221 N. Central Avenue, runs from 11:30am to 1:00pm in the Pulliam Auditorium.

"Finding innovative ways to recruit and educate individuals who reflect the community they serve is going to be a key in addressing the teacher shortage," according to Dr. Fred Gaskin, Chancellor of the Maricopa Community Colleges. "Nearly half of Arizona's public school teachers will be eligible to retire at some point in the next ten years. We need to nurture our teachers of the future, now."

Confirmed Speakers
Keynote speakers are Dr. Fred Gaskin, Chancellor of the Maricopa Community Colleges and Pete Turner, Superintendent of Liberty School District. Panelists include: Cheryl Walsh, CEO of Growth Strategies Group; Dr. Carol Peck, Superintendent of Alhambra School District; and Penny Kotterman, President of the Arizona Education Association. KPHO-TV 5 anchors, Cary Pfeffer, Diana Sullivan and Wayne Garcia will moderate.

Hot Topics
Some of the questions open for discussion at the event will be:

• Low salary is primarily blamed for the teacher shortage, but what are other key factors?
• What role can higher education play in attracting new teachers to the profession?
• Sixty percent of college of education graduates never teach; why?
• Why do 50 percent of teachers in urban districts leave the profession before their sixth year?
• What can parents and the community do to help strengthen elementary and secondary education?

"Parents are concerned about their child's education and rightly so," said Pat North, General Manager of KPHO-TV 5. "This forum is essential to unite educators, parents and students to find solutions to this growing problem," said North.

Arizona Issues Forum is a community partnership between the Maricopa Community Colleges Center for Civic Participation and KPHO-TV 5. The event site is sponsored by The Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and the City of Phoenix. For more on the Arizona Issues Forum, call (602) 216-0049.

The event is open to the public and includes a free box lunch. RSVP is requested by October 15 to 480-517-8885 (Maricopa Community Colleges Center for Civic Participation).

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March 13, 2002