The mashup edition
January is right around the corner … Teachers don’t get paid enough … And we can’t all play in the pros.
Arizona’s lawmakers are coming back to the Capitol in January, but that doesn’t mean they have to wait until then to start introducing bills.
The first official day to put bills in the “hopper” was Saturday. So far, only about 15 bills have been introduced, and only one of them deals with education.
Republican Rep. Nick Kupper introduced HB2008, which he’s calling the “Library Freedom Act.”
It would block public school libraries from using public funds to “pay any professional association that is dedicated to promoting, supporting and advocating for libraries, librarians and information services.”
That’s just the first of many education-related bills you can expect to see in the coming months. Last session, around 200 bills dealt with education, and two-dozen of them eventually became laws.
Teachers leaving
One of the biggest stories this week was the revelation that more than 1,000 teachers have quit since July.
The Arizona Department of Education released a survey of every school district and charter in the state, which all told employ about 60,000 teachers.
The survey showed 763 career teachers resigned since July and 292 resigned since the start of the school year.
The survey also showed the state has 4,200 teaching positions that are vacant, with about one-third covered by long-term substitutes. Another 2% are filled by teachers who work through preparation or planning time.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne called the situation “intolerable” and urged lawmakers to reauthorize Proposition 123, which he hopes will “include money to raise teacher salaries using state land trust funds without a tax increase.”
Prop 123 was one of the thorniest education issues at the Legislature last session. It expired in June and lawmakers haven’t come up with a fix yet.
Deadline approaching
When the Trump administration sent out a compact offer to nine universities in early October, including the University of Arizona, federal officials set a November 21 deadline to have all deals signed.
UA officials declined to sign the compact, at least in its current form. Arizona State University officials were in talks with the Trump administration, but there was never a formal offer on the table.
The University of Texas-Austin is the only one of the nine schools that hasn’t rejected the deal. Officials there showed initial enthusiasm for the compact, but they haven’t signed it yet and they aren’t saying whether they will or won’t, per the Texas Tribune.
The New College of Florida, which wasn’t one of the original nine to get the compact offer, is the only school so far to say it’ll sign the compact. The school used to be one of the most progressive in Florida, but Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed it rightward, the New York Times reported.
Schools closing
A parent group in South Tempe is pushing back on the Kyrene School District’s plan to close seven schools.
The parents say the plan targets too many schools in the district’s most diverse communities, while leaving the least-diverse schools untouched.
Kyrene de las Manitas Elementary is one of the schools on the chopping block. More than half of its student population identify as members of minority groups and more than one-fourth are economically disadvantaged, AZFamily’s Mickaela Castillo reports.
The parents launched “Manitas Matters” to try to keep the school open.
“The Long-Range Planning Committee worked for seven months to provide data-driven recommendations for the good of the entire district,” the parents wrote. “Yet after just one community hearing and targeted lobbying, the Board chose to keep two less-diverse schools open while closing Kyrene de las Manitas, a majority-minority campus with double or triple the number of Black students compared to the schools being spared. This move undermines equity in the district.”
Elsewhere in school closure news, Gilbert Public Schools may close Pioneer Elementary at the end of the school year, but it’s not because of any failing on the school’s part.
Pioneer got an “A” grade from the state and it’s been open since 1984.
The problem for Pioneer, and many other public schools, is the neighborhood is getting older and there are just fewer kids who live nearby, AZFamily’s Kylee Cruz and Casey Torres report.
Enrollment at Pioneer has declined for some time and the district needs to make up for an expected $5 million budget shortfall. Closing the school would cover about $2.5 million of that shortfall.
At a community meeting on Monday, parents explained how much they still value the school.
“It really is a family,” one parent said of Pioneer. “Every teacher has come up to me saying how they love having my boys and can’t wait to have my daughter, and knowing this whole year that there’s a possibility of the school closing has been devastating to us.”
Arizona Literacy Plan 2030: Leadership in Action
Join Education Forward Arizona on Tuesday, December 9, for their next virtual Education Power Hour — an in-depth look at the Arizona Literacy Plan 2030 and how communities around the state are helping kids build stronger reading skills.
The plan outlines key drivers, proven strategies, and actions designed to improve school readiness and third-grade reading outcomes statewide.
Attendees will hear from an expert guest panel of classroom educators, school and county leaders, and statewide literacy experts from the Arizona Department of Education, Read On Arizona, the Arizona State Board of Education, Imagine Schools, and the Yavapai County Education Service Agency. Guest presenters include Terri Clark, Sean Ross, Linda Burrows, Lori Masseur, Steve King, Joy Bruner, and Stephanie Hall-Zurek.
Attendees will walk away with insights on what’s working, what’s ahead, and actionable steps to champion literacy in their schools and communities.
Back-to-back Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal isn’t a kid anymore, but the 2014 graduate of Kingman Academy is still making his alma mater proud.
But not everybody can be the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. So what else are Arizona students dreaming about doing when they grow up?
The winners of the AZ529 essay contest have a lot of answers to that question.
The contest is simple. Students in fifth and sixth grade were asked to describe their dream job and explain how they would get it. The winners get a $529 check, which goes into their AZ529 Education Savings Plan.
“I want to become an author so I can help kids and adults learn how to read,” writes Avery Larson of the Town and Country Elementary School in Cochise County. “What would I do to become an author? I would start with my grammar and punctuation. After that, I would start on my handwriting so I could have more space to write with. Then, I would try to make a poem, and show it to my parents so they would correct my mistakes.”
“My dream job is to become a cardiologist,” writes Ashna Kalagara of New Vistas Center for Education in Maricopa County. “I was inspired by my grandpa. He is a cardiologist too. One day I was at his office and I saw him treat a patient. This got me really interested. I immediately started asking him questions about what it’s like to be a cardiologist.”
“My plan is to get a job with National Geographic and become a Photojournalist there,” writes Chrisette Nicks from the Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy. “I don’t care about the salary, I care for the beauty of the art.”
You can read the rest of the 20 winning essays here.