Welcome to the Expect More Blog. You are a part of the movement to make education a top priority in Arizona. This is your movement and your blog; we encourage you to stay involved by posting comments and letting us know what you'd like to see here.
Thank you for joining us. Please share Expect More Arizona with all of your family and friends. Together, we will make Arizona a model for excellence in education.
Title: Children’s Action Alliance – Tucson Champion for Children Reception February 18 Location: Private Residence More Info: Click here Description: Please join CAA, local leaders, legislators and fellow advocates to honor the 2010 Tucson Champion for Children, The Honorable Hector E. Campoy, Pima County Juvenile Court Judge. We will also celebrate our achievements for children and look ahead to the challenges and opportunities of 2010.
$35 per person supports CAA’s southern Arizona work and includes wine, hors d\’oeuvres and festivities. Start Time: 5:30 Date: 2010-02-18 End Time: 7:00
We are just a few short months away from the one year anniversary of when we publicly launched Expect More Arizona. It was in late April that we traveled around the state to talk to high school students about education. We wanted to get their perspective on what is good – and not so good – about Arizona’s education system. We also wanted to know how prepared they feel for college and/or a career. We asked a lot of questions, but, mainly, we listened. Here’s what students across Arizona had to say:
One of the highlights of 2009 for me was taking advantage of the opportunity to participate in the “Principal for a Day” program, sponsored by the City of Phoenix’s Youth and Education office. When I arrived at Clarendon Elementary School, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I won’t go into a lot of detail about my day there (maybe you read my live-tweets that day?). But, I’d like to tell you a little about how Clarendon is run.
I know the importance of a strong principal from previous years of experience working in Arizona schools. Without fail, the equation works like this: students are a reflection of their teachers; teachers are a reflection of their principal. Great principal = great students.
Sandy Meko, Clarendon’s Principal, makes that school great. Now, she won’t take credit for it. She’ll tell you about her amazing teachers and incredible students, but if you see my equation above, Mrs. Meko leads them to greatness. She leads by empowering her teachers to do everything they can to provide the best classroom experience for their students.
Last summer, she told me, two of her teachers – completely on their own time and initiative – wrote grants to provide their students with better technology in the classroom. Students, on their own time, participate in acclaimed ballet and band programs. In fact, a Clarendon student won a role in Ballet Arizona’s production of The Nutcracker this season and the 6th grade band students compete on the national level winning trophies and excellent ratings. This is the result of an “above and beyond” mentality fostered by the principal’s office. Everyone goes above and beyond what’s expected of them in order to succeed and excel.
There’s no question that it’s an uphill battle. Recent state budget cuts have tightened an already tight fiscal belt around Arizona schools. Regardless of your political leanings, you must recognize the strain placed on our schools. I watched Mrs. Meko in all of her roles: leader, educator, mentor, peacemaker, caregiver, detective and handyman. I watched her in her role as school CFO, as she paid $269 each to replace two standard projector light bulbs (each classroom has a projector, each projector takes two bulbs – you do the math).
It’s easy to place blame in our education funding crisis. It’s not easy to run a school during one. Many would settle for just getting by, but for others – like Mrs. Meko – getting by isn’t enough.
Sandy Meko, the students, teachers, and staff of Clarendon Elementary School are models of what it means to “Expect More.” They expect more of themselves and of each other. And, they expect more of you. They fight everyday to make their school the best it can be. What have you done today to support our schools?
As a community who “expects more” for education in Arizona, we want to thank you for your help in our efforts to build a statewide movement. The responses have been phenomenal . People like you, all over Arizona, are passionate about education and want more for our students and our state. But, one of the questions we get the most is: “Okay, I’m on board. I expect more. Now what?”
You can read more about ways to take action on our Web site, but let’s delve in to a few simple things you can do from the comfort of your computer.
Inform yourself and others – We’re operating under a very simple principle here: A more informed Arizona will consistently make better decisions with respect to education. In order to make a change, you need to know what’s going on now, why things are happening this way and who is making critical decisions that impact student success and our long-term economic prosperity. You can find current education-related news articles on the Expect More Web site, our Facebook page, and Twitter posts. Read up on what’s going on and share what you find with your friends. Armed with information, we can make a difference.
One Word: Share – We know you’re passionate about education; that’s why you’re here. Help us build a movement of more people like you. Share our networks with your friends: Tell a friend about Expect More, post our Facebook page to your own profile, tweet about us, connect on LinkedIn, MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr. If you have any questions about how to share Expect More Arizona with your networks, drop us a line and we’ll be more than happy to help you out.
Communicate! – Look, we have a lot of viewpoints, and so do you. We don’t necessarily need to agree with each other all the time, but we do need to join in the dialogue. Maybe you have an idea we haven’t considered – or vice versa. Expect More Arizona is about building a statewide conversation. Agree? Disagree? A little of both? We want to hear from you. There are plenty of venues to join our conversation. Comment on our blog posts, on our Facebook wall, use @ExpectMoreAZ in a Twitter post. See an article on a news site related to education, post a comment on the article. Together, we’ll build a conversation that leads to some of the best ways to make education a top priority in our state.
Again, there are many more ways we encourage you to get involved listed on our site. These are just a start. What other ways do you actively “Expect More” of Arizona? Post your answer in the comments section below (see, you’re starting already!).
Join hundreds of early childhood professional at the Association for Supportive Child Care’s 19th Annual Celebrate the Young Child Conference on Saturday, March 6, 2010! Click here for more information.
