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Education Headlines

Brewer, Goddard spar over immigration, state budget

Thursday September 2nd

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer and Democratic challenger Terry Goddard attacked each other's ... LEARN MORE »

AZ Fact Check - Proposition 107

Thursday September 2nd

Proposition 107 would amend the Arizona Constitution to prohibit affirmative-action programs. If ... LEARN MORE »

School notes

Thursday September 2nd

Tucson, AZ:  Parents interested in building a better relationship with their children can ... LEARN MORE »

New education report card grades student success, Arizona lags behind

Wednesday September 1st

Today, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) released a new book that provides a ... LEARN MORE »

Judge to hear arguments on Arizona's efforts to help students learn English

Wednesday September 1st

A federal judge is hearing arguments this week over whether the state is complying with federal ... LEARN MORE »

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About the Blog:

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.

Expect More Blog

31 Aug
VIDEO: Are Your Candidates 4 Education?
By Expect More Arizona

The weekend before Arizona’s Primary Election, nearly 300 Expect More Arizona volunteers walked through neighborhoods across the state to distribute door hangers that asked a question: Are Your Candidates 4 Education?

We will be seeking volunteers to do this again the weekend before the General Election. If you would like to be a volunteer for Expect More Arizona, please sign up here.

Thank you to everyone who has joined the movement to make education a priority in our state. And, a special thank you to everyone who walked 4 education!

Paid for by Expect More Arizona – Vote 4 Education Yes on 100 & Protect Early Childhood Health/Development Funds.  Major funding by Expect More Arizona, a fund of the Arizona Community Foundation.
25 Aug
General Election Begins: Take 4 Actions to “Vote 4 Education”
By Expect More Arizona

Today marks the first day of campaigning for Arizona’s General Election on November 2nd. While yesterday’s voter turnout was low, we can’t help but notice all of the Arizonans out there who are proud to “Vote 4 Education.” Kudos to those of you who voted in the Primary.

Now that we know (mostly) who will be on the November ballot, it is more imperative than ever that we get to know our candidates and where they stand on education. As a part of our “Vote 4 Education” campaign, we are recommending you take 4 actions this election year. Let’s take a moment to discuss each of them.

4 Actions

Action 1 – Arizona voters already successfully completed the first action this past May when we voted in support of Proposition 100. But, we must remember, moving forward, that Prop 100 was a temporary but significant step toward our goal, but only a band-aid. Let’s build on the momentum of Action 1’s success by completing the next three.

Action 2 – Vote NO on 302! Arizona’s ballot measures are often written to confuse voters, and Proposition 302 is no exception. So, let’s be clear: Voting NO on 302 is a vote to support Arizona’s youngest children, ages 0 -5.  In 2006, we voted to create a tobacco tax that would fund early childhood health and development; First Things First was created with those moneys, but now Arizona voters are being asked to eliminate the organization and to sweep its savings into the general fund. At Expect More Arizona, we believe that providing quality learning to Arizona’s youngest students is key to creating a successful education system. We urge you to protect First Things First and vote NO on 302.

Action 3 – Make sure your candidates are unwavering advocates of education. Expect More Arizona does not and will not endorse any candidate for public office. And, while we know that every candidate declares he or she is pro-education, we encourage you to challenge that declaration and to dig deeper. Our 4 Questions to “Vote 4 Education” will help you push candidates to be specific on how they will champion education, support pro-education policies, and motivate all Arizonans to do their part to improve education in our state. Talk is cheap; make sure your candidates know the only way to earn your vote is to make education one of their top two priorities. And, make sure they also know you plan to hold them accountable for their campaign promises.

Action 4 – Rally 10 friends to vote with education as their “hot button” issue. You and I know there is a direct link between the quality of Arizona’s education system and the quality of life in our state. That’s one of the reasons we “Vote 4 Education.” But, do your friends and family understand your passion and all of the reasons you support education? We encourage you to make the case 4 Education and get at least 10 friends to join the Expect More Arizona movement.

It is true that Arizona is at a crossroads. The decisions we make on November 2nd will affect today’s students, as well as the prosperity and quality of life for all of Arizona. We can’t continue to put education off for the next election, or the election after that. Together, we can change how education is viewed and supported in Arizona, but only if we take action. From today until Election Day, will you take the remaining three actions to “Vote 4 Education?” What are the other ways you will champion education in this election?

Paid for by Expect More Arizona – Vote 4 Education Yes on 100 & Protect Early Childhood Health/Development Funds.  Major funding by Expect More Arizona, a fund of the Arizona Community Foundation.
12 Aug
We Need Your Help!
By Expect More Arizona

The Clock is Ticking on Education…

The August 24th primary election is quickly approaching and we need to make sure Arizonans have education on their list of priorities.  Join Expect More Arizona for a pre-election push to get education top of mind as Arizona voters complete their ballots and go to the polls.  We’re asking for your help.

On August 21st and 22nd, we want 1,000 volunteers across Arizona to reach out to their local communities, distributing “Vote 4 Education” door hangers to 50,000 households.  If you can recruit 20 volunteers from your office, church, synagogue, friends, family, club (or anywhere else you can gather 20 Arizonans who expect more for education), and every volunteer can distribute 50 door hangers, we can really make a difference this election season!

Let us know if you are willing to join together for the 50,000 household challenge. We will do it again before the general election too.  If you are willing take the challenge, we’ll send you a simple three step process to get you going.  We’ll even give you cool “I Vote 4 Education” t-shirts for your volunteers!

For more information and to sign up, contact Donna Davis at Donna@ExpectMoreArizona.org.


50 groups. 1,000 volunteers. 50,000 households.
It can be done.

11 Aug
Enriching Education through Career-Tech Courses Essential to Raising the Bar
By Expect More Arizona


Arizona’s students are falling behind their global peers in academic performance, high school graduation rates and postsecondary degree attainment. Career and technical education are a viable and proven pathway to success for many students, and our education system must better prepare all students for every academic and career opportunity that comes their way.

Career and technical education, or CTE for short – can be important to Arizona students and their futures. CTE programs, which at one time were known as vocational education courses, are created with industry input and guidance to ensure the curriculum matches the needs of business.  While learning their craft through hands-on projects, students learn real-life work skills and become familiar with these careers, enabling them to get a head start on their chosen professions while they are still in high school.

Employers will need skilled, trained and educated workers for the 21st century economy, and CTE and applied learning programs are key to preparing young people for the jobs of the future.  However, CTE does more than just train students for jobs; it provides an invaluable education that contributes to student and community success in both rural and metro Arizona.

“Studies predict that by 2012, 2/3 of all new jobs will require some level of college education or advanced vocational training – a steady stream of reports about the demands of current and future employers reinforces the need for a highly skilled, educated workforce,” said J. Doug Pruitt, President and CEO of Sundt Construction. “The ability to deliver the types of workers we need requires a strong, high quality education system – from birth through career –providing all students with meaningful, hands on learning opportunities which fully prepare them for postsecondary education, career and life.”

The advantages of CTE are many: participants learn more than one skill, score higher on average on the state’s AIMS test in critical subjects such as math, science and reading and are more likely to advance to and earn a two- or four-year postsecondary degree.  In the past year, more than two-thirds of those who completed CTE courses went on to community college, or were placed in jobs or entered the military. CTE students can work in their chosen fields after high school, earn a stable salary and gain experience while they are working toward an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in college.

Across Arizona, there are 1,670 CTE program courses offered in 72 occupational programs.  More than 104,000 students benefit from CTE programs statewide, thanks to federal and statewide grants, without which it would be difficult for school districts to fund CTE on their own.  With so many disciplines available for students to choose – from engineering to biotechnology to bioscience to automotive technology – the curricula are challenging and important, filling not only industry needs, but also providing opportunities for students to grow academically in core education subjects.

1 Aug
Arizona Superintendent Candidates Discuss Arts Education
By Expect More Arizona

The Arizona Alliance for Arts Education and the Arizona Citizens for the Arts hosted a forum for the candidates for Superintendent of Public instruction to discuss arts education in Arizona. Watch an archive of the discussion, held at the Musical Instrument Museum, below.

28 Jul
Moving Arizona Ahead Demands Degrees
By Dr. Rufus Glasper & Regent Fred DuVal, Co-Chairmen of “Getting AHEAD”

According to a prominent new study, Arizona is winning a race, not to the top but to the bottom: we are about to lead the nation in jobs for high school dropouts. To reverse this dangerous trend, the state must reshape its higher education system to attract, serve and graduate more college students.

The study by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce tells us that Arizonans are at-risk of being locked out of the middle class. It predicts that Arizona will have enough jobs for high school dropouts, but soon we will be woefully deficient in the number of college graduates needed to fill the high-wage, modern jobs that businesses demand.

What may be most concerning about this report is that it speaks to a persistent mediocrity in our state. Already, 45 percent of Arizona’s high school students do not pursue any form of higher education after high school – the lowest rate among 50 states. Only 25 percent of Arizonans hold bachelor’s degrees.

While it may be easy to find a job in Arizona with just a high school diploma, the new middle class is being defined by college degree holders who are in a better position to sustain a family and grow their income.

Arizona’s residents can aspire to a higher quality of life and the state’s public higher education system is improving how it helps students achieve that dream.

Under way right now is a collaborative effort called “Getting AHEAD – Access to Higher Education And Degrees,” which will improve access to higher education for students across the state.  We are developing new and progressive partnerships between the state’s community colleges and the three public universities to allow more residents to complete a bachelor’s degree at a lower cost without ever leaving their home county.

We’re enhancing a student-centered, online advising portal – AZTransfer.com – to help plan academic careers from high school to community college to university. We’re also improving the credit transfer process so students can reliably carry their community college credits and/or an associate’s degree program into a bachelor’s degree program.

Finally, we’re exploring new ways to manage funding and governance among Arizona’s public community colleges and universities so that college is more accessible and affordable no matter what your age or circumstance.

As leaders of Arizona’s higher education system, we believe education is the agent that delivers a better quality of life. The mix and quality of workforce skills of our state residents are directly linked to our ability to move out of this economic recession. While our economy requires all types of workers and skill sets, more Arizonans must complete college degrees in order for business and our economy to grow. Only then can Arizona can move ahead.

Dr. Rufus Glasper is chancellor of the Maricopa County Community Colleges District.
Regent Fred DuVal is Vice Chair of the Arizona Board of Regents.
Both serve as co-chairman of “Getting AHEAD – Access to Higher Education And Degrees,” a comprehensive initiative to reshape Arizona’s post-secondary education system and encourage more residents to complete college degrees.

26 Jul
Take Education Out for Coffee
By Expect More Arizona

Many of you often ask how you can help spread the word about Expect More Arizona and the “Vote 4 Education” campaign. We have a simple idea that you can do during your regular visit to your local coffee shop. Most Starbucks and other coffee shops have a community bulletin board where you can post news and information about what’s happening in your community. Today, before you head out for coffee, download and print this flyer to post on the bulletin board, so folks in coffee shops across the state can learn how to “Vote 4 Education”.

(Click image to download PDF)

Download other campaign materials and more at our  “Vote 4 Education” Resource Center.

Paid for by Expect More Arizona – Vote 4 Education Yes on 100 & Protect Early Childhood Health/Development Funds.  Major funding by Expect More Arizona, a fund of the Arizona Community Foundation.

21 Jul
Watch Arizona Superintendent of Schools Candidates Debate
By Expect More Arizona

To “Vote 4 Education,” it is important to understand where your candidates stand on the biggest issues affecting education in Arizona. Watch below as candidates for State Superintendent of Public Instruction debate the issues on Horizon.

Paid for by Expect More Arizona – Vote 4 Education Yes on 100 & Protect Early Childhood Health/Development Funds.  Major funding by Expect More Arizona, a fund of the Arizona Community Foundation.

14 Jul
Let’s Get Greedy
By Randy Murray

As a small business owner I believe we, the taxpayers of Arizona, should invest heavily in our public education system.  In fact, I am willing to step up and pay more in personal and business taxes so that we can hire the best teachers, build modern infrastructure and attract the most innovative and brilliant leaders in education.  I advocate this taxation and spending plan not because I am altruistic, but because I’m greedy.  That’s right, I make this case based on simple old-fashioned personal greed.  I believe very few public investments could benefit my business and my personal wealth more than a world-leading public education system here in Arizona.

I am not advocating we invest in an education band-aid, I am advocating spending a great deal more money and getting exponentially more in return.  Now is the time to build a world-leading system.  In a few short years we can have a system that is holistic and aggressive, one that demands the highest level of performance from all involved, ingrains accountability, and provides the resources to achieve those goals.  The return on our investment depends on building the highest quality education system, and nothing short.

Here is the math.  Quality schools will attract quality businesses and if there is more business in our state, I for one, will earn my fair share of it.  If Arizona becomes more successful, it is fair to assume that my business will reap proportional rewards.  I also weigh the loss of opportunity into these calculations.  If we continue on the same path and Arizona becomes widely known as the “new Appalachia” as it is being referred to in education circles, my business will suffer and my profits will go down. It was a clear message Google sent when they pulled out of Arizona; quality companies demand an educated employee pool and quality schools for their families.

There are too many other benefits to list in full, but at the top of the list is a well-educated employee pool and customer base.  Any business owner will testify to the nightmare of uneducated employees and customers.  There is also a direct relationship between our investment – or lack of it – in education and what we spend on incarceration.  And on a personal level, why pay taxes and pay for private school for the children in my family?

Of course I am not the first to make a dollars and senses argument for our investment in public education.  Our nation, and each of us, has prospered because of the commitment of those who came before us; the commitment that every person was created equal and every child will have the opportunity to succeed.  This commitment sounds lofty and noble, but it is actually a very smart manifestation of personal gain, or even greed.  In the eight-grade, at a well-funded public school, I was taught that our founding fathers referred to this as “Enlightened Self Interest”.  I simply call it smart business.  So, let’s get greedy and invest in our schools.

Randy Murray is a small business owner in Phoenix. You may recognize some of his work from Expect More Arizona’s television spots.

1 Jul
Collaborative Culture: An Overlooked Element of School Reform
By Larry McBiles

As someone who has invested much of my career in improving the instructional quality of schools for the benefit of students and educators, I believe most education reform will be stuck in second gear without fundamental changes in the culture of our schools.

Through the Center for Teacher Success, my colleagues and I work to improve the instructional quality of schools by focusing on the educator. We provide training and support to superintendents, district staff, principals and teachers. Our engagements often focus on helping school personnel improve their organizational culture. With so many other professional demands on teachers, some might question the importance we place on the quality of adult relationships on a campus.

I visit too many schools in Arizona where the daily routine of teachers is to close their classroom doors and teach with little or no interaction with their peers. Of course, this is not a new pattern for teachers. But it is clearly at odds with what we expect from our teachers in the 21st century. Simply stated, we expect teachers to work together so that students are prepared when they move on to their next teacher. This means teachers must be in sync with their grade-level peers and with the teachers in grades before and after them. The emphasis must be on true collaboration rather than isolation. And this collaboration must reflect a shared responsibility and accountability for high levels of student learning.

Progressive corporations have long understood the value of creating and sustaining collaborative cultures. For a number of years The Harvard Business Review has documented numerous examples of how companies have used collaboration as the cornerstone of high organizational performance. School leaders would do well to follow the lead and counsel from their corporate counterparts.

A growing body of research makes a compelling case for a collaborative culture in schools. Moreover, the research underscores positive changes for both teachers and students. Teachers develop a shared ownership for the direction of their school as well as greater responsibility for student achievement, increase their understanding of content and pedagogy, and adapt more quickly to the inevitable changes that must occur for schools to improve. Students’ academic gains are larger and there are lower rates of dropping out, absenteeism and truancy.

Building a collaborative culture takes more than a change in teacher attitudes and professional habits. District and school leaders must commit the time, training, and support required for meaningful collaboration to occur.   And with patience and persistence, collaborative cultures are an example of how raised expectations deliver a remarkable payoff in the form of stellar teachers and students.

Dr. Larry McBiles is Executive Director of the Center for Teacher Success.

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