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Yuma Union rolls out in-house educator certification program to boost teacher retention
Summary
The board heard a presentation on the CARE (Credentialing and Retaining Educators) program: an in‑district, ADE‑approved pathway intended to certify near‑40 participants over two years using Arizona Western College coursework and classroom‑based practicum.
The Yuma Union High School District on Wednesday reviewed the CARE program, an in‑house educator preparation pathway designed to credential employees while they teach in district classrooms.
Corey Semler, the district’s executive director of teaching and learning, told the governing board the program is approved by the Arizona Department of Education and is intended to produce the same certification as a college program while keeping candidates working in district classrooms. “Rather than send them elsewhere to go get their educator preparatory, or preparation, we decide to do that in house,” Semler said. He said the program lets participants complete practicum and coursework while employed by the district so “they learn the YUHSD way of doing things.”
Semler said roughly 38–40 district staff are in the program and the district expects its first cohort to graduate in the summer of 2025. He described the program timeline as scheduled to take two years and said the district partners with Arizona Western College for required education coursework. Semler added that candidates must still pass the state certification exams (a content knowledge exam and a professional knowledge exam) to obtain full certification.
Board members and staff described two operational features intended to improve completion and retention: an asynchronous, interactive Canvas course that replaces an earlier, infrequently offered in‑person module, and program safeguards to avoid benefit lapses. Superintendent Tim Brienza (introduced earlier in the meeting) and a board member emphasized that participants keep employment benefits through the program because of the state’s alternative certification rules; a board member summarized the district’s retention record as “84% retention rate over the last 2 years.”
Semler said the program is part of a broader “grow our own” strategy to stabilize staffing amid a national teacher shortage. He and other staff described the CARE program as classroom‑based, college‑aligned and reliant on ongoing district supports rather than outsourcing educator preparation.
The presentation closed with an invitation for board questions; none required additional action at the meeting.
