NOTE: The ABEC newsletter will switch back to its monthly schedule in September.  Submission requests for the ABEC newsletter, including events open to the public, staff updates, etc. should be sent to Patrick Contrades, deputy director (and newsletter editor) at patrick@azbec.org.

 

"Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life. The secret of success is in turning that diary into the best story you possibly can."

~ Douglas Pagels

Greetings from ABEC,

New beginnings represent great opportunities:

ABEC will have a busy year – so here are your assignments:

1. Put together a team of two business friends and two educators and register to play in the ABEC Golf Tournament on October 7
2. Sponsor our upcoming golf event, the Legislative Connection, our annual conference, or one of our initiatives.
3. Attend the ABEC 2011 board meetings, August 31 and November 29. If your organization is an ABEC member, plan on attending from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm and participate in conversation that guides ABEC direction.
4. If your institution or business is not a member, go join today.

This summer, there have been significant activities and progress throughout the state that ultimately can affect Arizona’s public K-12 education system.  Here's a summary of the highlights of what ABEC has heard …

AZ STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION:

• Look for the launch of “Arizona Ready” soon! Coming from the Governor’s Office on Education and Innovation, this website will communicate to parents and the community, in plain language, the vision of the Arizona Education Reform Plan and its goal of raising the bar on performance, Common Core standards, why they’re important, and how they’ll affect daily life.
• Thanks to the funding from the College Access Challenge Grant, 20,000 eighth graders took the ACT EXPLORE test. The goal for 2012? 40,000 students tested with EXPLORE – a tool that assesses career interests of youngsters just as they enter high school. Ultimately, all 80,000 eighth graders are targeted for this assessment.
• Common Core assessment on the way! 2012-2013 will be the first year pilot for the new assessment of the Common Core – with a full administration planned for 2014-2015. For ABEC and all community members, now is the time to begin thinking what role YOU play in helping students and schools achieve a higher measure.

AZ JOINT LEGISLATIVE STUDY COMMITTEES:

Outcome-based Funding - The purpose of this committee is to develop legislation that would transition public school funding from a system based on instructional hours to a system based on student achievement. Members of the committee include: Representatives Chester Crandell (co-chair) and Lynne Pancrazi, Senators Sylvia Allen (co-chair) and Linda Lopez, Susan Carlson (ABEC), Deb Duvall (ASA), Chuck Essigs (AASBO), elementary school teacher Linda Honsinger, Stacey Morley (ADE), Janice Palmer (ASBA), middle school teacher Wiley Popovich, high school teacher Duane Tomlinson, and Vince Yanez (State Board of Education).  The committee is to submit a report on its activities and recommendations on or before December 31, 2011, to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of State.  It’s important to note that this model differs greatly from the evidence-based approach referenced in the ABEC School Finance Reform Initiative.

School District Unification and Consolidation (Co-Chairs: Senator Rich Crandall and Representative Doris Goodale).  This committee is charged with discussing the issues of unification and consolidation, and ultimately, provide recommendations. The committee, which began meeting in July, meets once per month.  Future meeting issues are as follows:

• AUGUST: Consolidation and Unification – create a working model (i.e. a decision matrix) for an urban and a rural district that can be provided to school districts to determine if unification or consolidation is something they want to consider
• SEPTEMBER: Alternatives – shared services, educational service agency services, etc.
• OCTOBER: High-end conversation on what the committee wants to recommend
• NOVEMBER: Finalize recommendations, provide the detail on how to implement the recommendations, and provide deliverables

Janice Palmer (ASBA), who attended the first meeting stated, “The overall tenor of the Committee was very positive and very different from previous attempts. Almost all agreed that local control must be preserved, focus should be on increasing student achievement, and efforts should focus on incentives and educating folks on what current measures (i.e. intergovernmental agreements, county educational service agencies, etc.) are available to provide economies of scale, as well as additional educational opportunities for rural students.”

NOTE: Additional information on both committees, including meeting agendas and minutes, can be found at http://www.azleg.gov/InterimCommittees.asp.

ARIZONA TOWN HALL:

STEAM, the new STEM!  Arizona Town Hall distributed its report from the 98th Town Hall “Capitalizing on Arizona’s Arts and Culture”. The background report, prepared by the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at ASU, cited a number of key points for consideration:

• Children who receive art instruction as part of their education have greater success in reading, math, critical thinking, social and leadership skills and are more likely to stay in school.
• 90% of Arizonans believe arts education is either important or very important.
• U.S. employers rate creativity/innovation among the top five skills that will increase in importance over the next five years.
• The lack of alignment with education curriculum and the Arizona Academic Arts Standards creates a gap between arts education policy and practice.

Attendees at Arizona Town Hall created a set of recommended actions for Arts, Culture and Education that includes:

• Schools should adhere to the existing state standards and policies that apply to arts curriculum, and art specialists placed in all schools along with adequate funding should help meet those standards.
• Arts organizations and education stakeholders should advocate for a statewide mandate for the ongoing collection of arts education data from schools.
• Parents must be involved in their children’s art education and take a role in assuring the enforcement of state standards.
• Expand S.T.E.M to S.T.E.A.M. by adding arts into the core educational curriculum.

Interestingly, this report aligns with a number of ABEC conversations about the important role the arts plays in creativity and innovation.

REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AND SUPPORT CENTERS:

The process is now underway to develop Regional Educational Service and Support Centers, as outlined in the Arizona Education Reform Plan. The Centers are intended to assist school districts and charter schools in strategically enhancing their capacity to meet the transformative goals set forth in the reform plan – as well as locally defined district goals for student achievement – and respond to new legislative mandates related to them.  The Centers will be a collaborative enterprise of the Governor’s Office, Arizona Department of Education and County School Superintendents throughout the state. Five Regional Centers will be established:

• Region 1 to serve Apache, Coconino and Navajo counties;
• Region 2 to serve Maricopa County;
• Region 3 to serve Cochise, Pima and Santa Cruz counties;
• Region 4 to serve Gila, Graham, Greenlee and Pinal counties; and
• Region 5 to serve Mohave, La Paz, Yavapai and Yuma counties.

The Centers will provide relevant, practical, locally defined and regionally delivered educational services and technical assistance to address the high-priority focus areas identified in the reform plan, among them are: data use, standards and assessments, teacher and principal effectiveness, and support for struggling schools and students.  Symposiums will also be held throughout the state at which leaders from education, business and policy will be asked to define and prioritize the educational services and support needed within each region.  

For the fall 2011, ABEC will have an ASU student intern working 12 hours per week in the ABEC office. Her responsibilities are varied – which includes writing her own monthly article for the ABEC newsletter – and we want you to meet her...

Hi, I’m Kailin Biggerstaff. I am currently attending Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. This year I am a sophomore, which is slightly comforting because it proves I am doing what I like and, I indeed, picked the correct major.

I chose to study journalism early on in high school. I was always taught to pick an occupation where work isn’t miserable but instead something to look forward to every morning when the alarm sounds. I have always loved to write—mostly short stories, toasts, speeches, and poetry—but I also wanted to do something influential. So, I thought journalism was a good fit.

I was born in Flagstaff, where I have lived the majority of my life. I also lived in South Carolina for four years after my father was transferred for work shortly after I was born. So when I first started talking I had an adorable accent that has since disappeared.

My family consists of my mother and father, three older brothers, an older half sister, and me. I am the baby of the family and I never forget it. For this reason, when I was looking into prospective colleges, the advice and opinions were endless. I chose Walter Cronkite for its innovative program, technology, downtown campus, prestige, and of course, it isn’t too far from home.

In high school I was very involved in Student Council, National Honor Society, and other community service organizations. My mother also taught at the high school I attended, Flagstaff High School, so I have seen the behind the scenes and dealt with issues that arise in school systems.

I was attracted to ABEC because of my connection to education and because I think it is of the utmost importance. In a system, all parts have to work for everything to run properly. In a school system these parts are teachers, administrators, students, parents, and the community supporting the schools. I can’t wait to learn more about this process, and help ABEC on their vision of adequately preparing students to benefit our community.

ABEC Golf Tournament – Register Today!  Do you enjoy golf and want to network with others that support education?  Then grab some friends and register as a team or as an individual for the 4th Annual ABEC Golf Tournament.  This year’s scramble will be held Friday, October 7th at the Legacy Golf Resort; shotgun start at 1:15 p.m.  After play, stick around and network with others at the first “ABEC Happy Hour” – we will give out awards, raffle off prizes, and have lots of fun and laughs.  To register or to sponsor this event, go to http://www.azbec.org/golf2011.cfm.  Registration/Sponsor forms are due at ABEC by Friday, September 23rd!

Seeking Career Speakers – ABEC continues to seek business professionals who are interested in volunteering to go into the classroom and speak to middle school students about their respective career.  As part of its Business-Education Partnership Initiative, ABEC plans to build a speakers list – business professionals who want to speak to middle school students about their profession – and provide the list to its member school districts.  If interested or want more information, contact Patrick Contrades at (602) 261-6701 or at patrick@azbec.org.

“Shadow the Superintendent” – a members-only opportunity! Throughout this fall, ABEC is facilitating an opportunity for Legislators to spend time with an ABEC school superintendent in the district and school setting. This is a chance for legislators to hear and see first-hand the issues from the practitioner. Superintendents have both the opportunity to share how issues play out in their districts and to hear about the legislator’s views and concerns. To accommodate demanding schedules, the day is "your choice!” Any legislator or ABEC member superintendent wishing to participate should contact Karen Kehlenbach at (602) 261-6702 or at karen@azbec.org.

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The Arizona Business & Education Coalition (ABEC) is a 501(c)(3) organization providing a balanced forum for business and education leaders to collaborate and improve K-12 education policy, with linkages to pre-kindergarten and postsecondary education. Guiding principles include: increasing public awareness about the relationship between Arizona’s future workforce and the quality of the K-12 system; actively and effectively influencing education policy; and sharing responsibility for the growth of student achievement in Arizona. For more information, visit www.azbec.org. You are receiving this e-mail because you are a member of ABEC, have signed up to receive our eNewsletter, attended an ABEC or ABEC-related event, or have made direct contact with ABEC.

Copyright 2011. Arizona Business & Education Coalition. All Rights Reserved.