“When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.” – Pauline R. Kezer
Greetings from ABEC!
Overwhelmed. If you’ve not yet read That Used To Be Us – How America Fell Behind in the World it Invented, by Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum, you must. At the Developing Human Capital Conference: Arizona’s Race to Good Jobs, Dr. Mandelbaum remarked that, although not intended, two-thirds of the book happens to be about education. It describes the slow decline of our educational system, our culture and country at this moment in time and the various calls to action. Increase student performance on the state assessment. Raise expectations for all students. Students must be competitive in an internationally-benchmarked world. Education is struggling alone. People aren’t paying attention. That Used To Be Us sets out tough recommendations and it can be overwhelming to see the task at hand.
Powerless. School funding is cut. Economic indicators are flat. Children and families in poverty are on the rise. Criticism is coming from every corner. The culture of families and communities doesn’t seem to value education or hard work.
Hope. Glimmers of “moving the needle” are out there. Another organization takes up the cause. Schools with high poverty are advancing toward college and career readiness – and we can learn from them. We know what to do – and the “fixes” may be as subtle as tweaking a strategy already underway. Data is more available than ever and the picture of what we need to accomplish is clearer than ever. People, from parents to policy makers, are paying a lot more attention. This year in Arizona, EXPLORE – an ACT test administered to 8th grade students – will be given to almost 30,000 youngsters. This will be an important element in creating the ramp to college and career readiness and offers hope that more students at that pivotal age will see the relevance of their studies.
Accomplishment. It seems more likely. College and career readiness (CCR) for all is possible, even in our schools most affected by high poverty. Thirteen schools have been identified, from Ganado to Yuma, that are advancing their students toward college and career readiness in all subjects and all grades tested. And 183 more schools are advancing in one or more content areas. If we can get our youngsters on the ramp to college and career readiness by 3rd grade, and help them in seeing the relevance of their education to their futures in middle school, how much more will they be prepared for success as they exit high school?
Getting involved and working together is one of the primary messages of the ABEC Arizona Higher Performing Schools Recognition Project. What if the mantra of higher performance became the message of parent groups, of community organizations, and of business? And what if there were concrete, specific ways each could help achieve college and career readiness? What if increasing performance was truly a shared responsibility – and everyone took their role seriously? One key strategy in leading such social change is through collective action. The work of moving students from the level of acceptable performance on AIMS to the more rigorous level of college and career readiness simply cannot be achieved by educators alone. We have a culture that often pushes back on the call for “harder work”, “tighter focus” and dropping away those programs and practices that don’t work or are distracting. The concept of collective action was described at the Developing Human Capital Conference: Arizona’s Race to Good Jobs. Collective action at both the state and local levels must be seriously approached for us to see movement in the culture and in student performance.
As we recognize schools that are moving toward achieving CCR, the Arizona Department of Education and the National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA) will begin to analyze why certain schools are advancing more rapidly – and we’ll be ready to promote and talk about what practices are being implemented. We call this shining the light on things that work. CSI…Celebrate, Study, Inspire … the purpose of our Arizona Higher Performing Schools Recognition Project.
Sincerely,
ABEC executive director
ABEC is celebrating the launch of its Arizona Higher Performing Schools Recognition Project with the release of a list of higher performing schools from across the state. The distinction: schools that are advancing their students toward college and career readiness (CCR) more rapidly than schools of like demographics. This is another way to look at school performance.
The National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA), a department of ACT, Inc., in partnership with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), released the 2011 Higher Performing Schools List for Arizona. The list identifies those elementary, middle, and high schools in Arizona that have consistently outperformed their peers with similar student populations over a three-year period (the 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11 school years).
The schools fall into one of two categories:
1. Arizona Higher Performing Schools – those that are advancing their students toward CCR in all grades tested in one or more content area, and
2. Arizona All Subject Higher Performing Schools – those that are advancing their students in all grades and all content areas tested.
All Arizona Higher Performing schools are being celebrated by ABEC, and the Arizona All Subject Higher Performing Schools receive special recognition.
NCEA identified the Higher Performing Schools based on one or both of two measures: 1) consistent improvement in student achievement from previous years (growth), and/or 2) for those schools at the top of the performance spectrum on AIMS, absolute student achievement.
ABEC undertook this project as a way to:
- Raise public awareness about the difference between “meets expectations” as defined by Arizona AIMS and the level of performance that will be needed for college and career readiness.
- Advocate the need for systemic alignment toward higher standards in order to prepare for the Common Core Standards and Assessments.
- Identify and promote best practices at work in Higher Performing schools.
- Identify tools to assist with development of best practices, including effective school-business partnerships that increase student achievement.
The next step: NCEA will work with ADE to do an analysis of those schools that have outperformed their peers to identify the practices at the classroom, school and district that have enabled that success.
New American Revolution: College and Career Readiness for All was the title of the recent PEN National Conference. One session highlighted research underway on indicators for CCR. The Annenberg Institute and the National Assessment Governing Board are studying three possible indicators: academic readiness, college knowledge, and tenacity. Youngsters, they suggest, should know about the pathways to and through postsecondary education even prior to middle grades. And they must have a commitment to their own learning – tenacity. One way to develop tenacity: individual experiences in learning about their areas of interest.
Congratulations to the 13 schools that made the 2011 NCEA Arizona All Subject Higher Performing Schools List:
Alhambra Elementary School District
Granada Primary School
James W. Rice Primary School
Sevilla Primary School
Westwood Primary School
Crane Elementary School District
H. L. Suverkrup Elementary School
Ganado Unified School District
Ganado Primary School
Glendale Union High School District
Moon Valley High School
Sunnyslope High School
Washington High School
Mary Ellen Halvorson Educational Foundation
Tri-City College Prep High School
Paradise Valley Unified School District
Grayhawk Elementary School
Scottsdale Unified School District
Pima Elementary School
Tucson Unified School District
University High School
NCEA began identifying Higher Performing Schools in 1998. The organization continues to annually release these lists as well as College and Career Readiness Charts for every public school in Arizona.
Additional Resources:
Frequently Asked Questions
2011 NCEA Higher Performing Schools List for Arizona
How NCEA identifies Higher Performing Schools in Arizona
Achieving College and Career Readiness: Arizona’s Higher Performing Schools is an ABEC initiative in partnership with the Arizona Department of Education and NCEA/ACT. This ABEC initiative is sponsored by Greater Phoenix Leadership, Helios Education Foundation, GearUP, and Southern Arizona Leadership Council.
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...Welcome to the newest members to the ABEC family:
The Arizona Educational Foundation has named its Arizona Teacher of the Year, Kristie Martorelli, a kindergarten-to-third-grade reading interventionist at Thompson Ranch Elementary School in El Mirage (Dysart Unified School District) – congratulations! |
UPCOMING EVENT
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
HOST SPONSOR:
For more information on upcoming ABEC events, go to www.azbec.org.
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BLOG: OUR CHILDREN DESERVE MORE FROM US
ABEC deputy director
Trying to get into the mind of Arizona voters when it comes to education issues is like trying to get into the mind of a 14 year old girl who is beginning to show interest in boys, but doesn’t want her father to know – it’s virtually impossible!
Across the state, a total of 50 education-related ballot measures spanned local communities in the November 8, 2011 election. Voters were asked to support their local public schools and pass a bond and/or budget override for maintenance and operations, capital budget, or special programs. Statewide, 10 of 15 school bond measures appear to have passed; however, 22 out of 35 budget override measures will most likely fail (NOTE: not all counties have posted “official results”).
In many counties, fewer than 25% of all registered voters exercised their right to vote. A handful of measures were “too close to call” by the end of the night. In some small, rural school districts, fewer than 200 voters determined the fate of the budget for their local school district. In the Paradise Valley Unified School District, 187,813 votes were cast to determine the outcome of the district’s budget increase request. It passed by 44 votes.
If you believe that your vote won’t make a difference, just look at the City of El Mirage elections. The city’s $8.5 million general obligation bond proposal to help build a new police station and a recreation center PASSED BY THREE VOTES! And if you are thinking this margin triggers an “automatic recount,” that statute in the law does not apply to city bond elections.
Much was at stake for school districts in these elections. Districts may be forced to cut teacher and staff positions as well as numerous school programs if their measure(s) failed. Sadly, more than half of all education ballot measures did fail. “Why?” I have to ask. Didn’t we learn anything from the Vote 4 Education campaign led by Expect More Arizona? Did voters become too complacent after overwhelmingly passing Prop 100 (1% additional sales tax) and saving First Things First (the “No on 302” campaign) that they decided not to vote? Are families continuing to struggle to make ends meet in today’s economy, that they are sending the message “I can’t afford to have my property taxes increased!”? Is having a quality education system in our state not a priority?
Whatever the reasons, the results from the November 2011 election show that there’s still much work to do to educate Arizona voters on the importance of a quality education system and to get more citizens to cast their vote. Our children deserve more from us, even if it seems like a virtually impossible task.
Send your comments to Patrick Contrades.
Download chart (pdf version)
By Kailin Biggerstaff
The new NCEA Arizona Higher Performing Schools list recognizes schools that have their students on the ramp to college and career readiness, but making sure students are ready to learn on a daily basis is just as vital. Sodexo, the North American leader of Quality of Daily Life solutions, works everyday in the hopes that every student is ready to perform at his or her best. Specifically, Sodexo is very passionate about ensuring every child has enough food to eat.
One in five children nationally is at risk of hunger, and in Arizona alone, 17 percent of the population is missing meals or suffer from hunger, according to Katrina Lewis, Director of Business Development at Sodexo in Phoenix. “These children go to our schools,” Lewis said. “We have to think about things that are going to impact our children.” According to Lewis, there are Harvard studies that say a child who receives a healthy breakfast is able to retain more, participate more, and thus have a better opportunity to achieve higher test scores.
Ensuring children do not have to suffer from hunger is a passion of Sodexo – so much so that 15 years ago the Sodexo Foundation was started. Since then, the Foundation has provided more than $15 million in grants to help fight childhood hunger. The foundation partners with various other organizations in initiatives they hope will end childhood hunger by 2015.
Their Backpack Food Program is one of the many initiatives that give food to those less fortunate. Sodexo, along with local food banks, such as St. Mary’s Food Bank, fills backpacks with nutritious, nonperishable food they then give to needy students the last day before a weekend or holiday break. The food in the backpacks is enough to feed a hungry family of four.
“Everyday our mission is to enhance the quality of life,” Lewis said. Sodexo currently assists 20-plus school districts in Arizona, which include, Vail USD, Catalina Foothills USD, Kyrene Elementary SD, Balsz Elementary SD, Fountain Hills USD, Higley USD, Tolleson Elementary SD, with their food programs, capital infrastructure, energy management, expansion strategies, and much more. Six other districts were recently awarded grants to fund initiatives like the Backpack Food Program at their schools. The Sodexo Foundation also offers $5,000 scholarships to students of all grades who are catalysts in their communities for eliminating hunger in America. The scholarships serve as motivation for children to get engaged with this issue early on to become anti-hunger advocates.
Learn more on how Sodexo is positively affecting the education community in our state. Also, join Sodexo and the Sodexo Foundation and Take the No Kid Hungry Pledge to add your voice to the national movement of people committed to ending childhood hunger in America by 2015.
Kailin Biggerstaff is a sophomore at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and is interning at ABEC this fall.
EDUCATION NEWS
Arrogant ignorance' holds U.S. back, Crow asserts at Peoria conference - The Arizona Republic, 11/19/11
More than 200 people at a Peoria conference got a jolt of reality along with their caffeine from Arizona State University President Michael Crow, who said a collective "arrogant ignorance" holds the nation back. He cited an education system that's not innovative enough, a lack of awareness or acknowledgment of global competition and lack of long-term vision. Read more>
Reading interventionist Teacher of the Year – The Arizona Republic, 11/18/11
Kristie Martorelli, a kindergarten-to-third-grade reading interventionist at Thompson Ranch Elementary School in El Mirage, was named Arizona Teacher of the Year on Thursday by the Arizona Educational Foundation. Read more>
Peoria Unified School District parents weigh in on issues facing schools – The Arizona Republic, 11/14/11
For two hours last week, the Peoria Unified School District stepped away from the spotlight and let parents do the talking. About 160 parents, residents, teachers and even a few students flocked to Centennial High School on Wednesday for the district's first town hall-like meeting, dubbed the 21st Century Education Forum.
Read more>
$200 Million Now Available for Race to the Top Round Three – www.ed.gov, 11/16/11
Starting this week, Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina can apply for a share of the $200 million Race to the Top round three fund. The nine round two finalists are invited to submit applications tailored to support a portion of their Race to the Top plan, including a meaningful investment in advancing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Read more>
Nation's Biggest Teacher-Prep School Revamps Training – Edweek, 11/15/11
School after school in the Phoenix area has a banner hanging on the side of the building: iTeachAZ. It's shorthand for Arizona State University's new flagship undergraduate teacher education program, which integrates several high-profile — and hotly debated — reforms to teacher preparation today. Read more>
U.S. Department of Education Proposes Dedicated Office for Early Learning – US Dept of Education, 11/04/11
The U.S. Department of Education announced today a proposal to create an Office of Early Learning, tasked with overseeing the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge Grants and coordinating early learning programs across the Department. Read More>
AG investigating Sunnyside directive to pass out fliers: Pass out pamphlets or lose your programs, student athletes, coaches warned – The Arizona Daily Star, 11/04/11
Student athletes in Tucson's second-largest school district were directed to pass out brochures in support of next week's bond election at the behest of the district's Governing Board president, the Star has learned. And coaches were warned that should the bond measure fail, coaches who refused to participate would see their sports programs cut first. Read more>
SPECIAL REPORTS
Starting out right: pre-k and kindergarten – The Center for Public Education
What’s the best early childhood education combination communities can provide? Until now, research hasn’t had an answer. Although there is a wealth of research on pre-k and on kindergarten, they have been examined mainly in isolation. That research has shown that both high-quality pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten can have significant, often lasting, benefits for children. Therefore, students would benefit most from attending high-quality prekindergarten, and then going on to full-day kindergarten. However, these particular programs are not necessarily required or paid for by many states. Cash-strapped states and districts around the country are being forced to choose how to best spend their dollars, including allocations to publicly-funded pre-k and kindergarten that are both best for students and feasible within current budgets. Read more>
Leveraging data for college completion – Pathways to College Network
As policymakers consider strategies to increase college completion and further economic growth, it is critical that statewide longitudinal data systems be viewed as a necessary tool. This report highlights the role of data systems in improving the completion of postsecondary education, and provides recommendations and tangible examples for policymakers and other education stakeholders seeking to utilize data as a catalyst for policy change. Download report (PDF)>
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.