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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.
Coconino Voices: Hold candidates accountable to education agenda
By Sara Presler
I wholeheartedly believe in the need for a solid education system, for the good of our children, our economy and for everyone in the community. The connection is undeniable: high-quality, well-paying industries look for skilled and educated workers, and this asset is one of the first things companies consider when locating and/or expanding their businesses in our state. I now see this first-hand as we work together to bring new, high-wage jobs into Flagstaff and Northern Arizona.
As a private citizen, I cannot stress enough how much I support education as a priority issue when I vote in local, statewide and national elections. Education is a vital part of our community, inextricably linked to our ability to be prosperous and successful. If we provide our students with access to education that is of the best quality and expect them to achieve academically, we will all reap benefits well into the future.
Recently, Expect More Arizona launched a new and exciting initiative to provide voters with information and resources to help them determine whether candidates for public office are truly “pro-education.” Known as “Vote 4 Education,” the campaign is geared toward encouraging voters to make education a hot-button issue at the ballot box this year as they consider ballot initiatives and elect leaders at all levels of government. The campaign is nonpartisan and does not support candidates; rather, it gives voters four questions they can use to determine whether office hopefuls are making education a priority issue and four actions that Expect More Arizona is supporting through the end of the election cycle in November. The four actions, three of which remain, include:
1. Vote “Yes” on 100 — Temporary state sales tax hike (passed)
2. Vote “No” on 302 — Protect the Voter-Approved Early Childhood Health and Development Initiative (a.k.a. First Things First)
3. Make sure your candidates are unwavering advocates for education
4. Rally 10 friends to vote with education as their “hot-button issue”
Most of us in public office will say we are pro-education, but what does that mean? Being specific and knowledgeable is becoming increasingly important to constituents, and a recent survey from Expect More Arizona finds voters may be more willing than ever to make education a priority when going to the polls this year. The answers to the four questions below are very telling and can help voters decide which candidates are deserving of their votes in the August primaries and the November general elections. Ask yourselves about every candidate:
1. Is education a top priority?
2. Do they have a clear plan with specific strategies for education in our state?
3. Are they willing to invest resources in education?
4. How will they challenge Arizonans to expect more and do more for education?
As voters, we need solid answers when we ask candidates these questions. Elected officials work for the voting public. The public is loud and clear: We want and deserve high quality education for all children, and we want to raise the bar in education. And we are willing to take action to affect positive change, and get real results.
Education is everyone’s business — the quality of education Arizona children receive impacts everyone’s quality of life. Voters know it, and with the primary elections quickly approaching, we need to show we are serious about making education our hottest priority by embracing “Vote 4 Education” ourselves.
Sara Presler is a local attorney and the mayor of Flagstaff. She offers this opinion in her personal capacity.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We’ve always known that education is an important issue for Arizonans, and now we can prove it. In late April, we conducted a survey that shows Arizona voters are concerned about the current state of education, disappointed in elected leaders and worried that the quality of the entire system costs Arizona economic and growth opportunities.
The bipartisan, statewide voter survey was conducted by national polling firms, Lake Research Partners and American Viewpoint, Inc. When questioned about the quality of the state’s education offerings, most Arizona voters expressed pessimistic feelings, with a plurality saying they are “concerned” (43%), followed by “frustrated” (15%) and “unhappy” (12%). Only 13 percent chose positive words, such as “satisfied,” “optimistic” or “happy.”
Lake Research pollster, Joshua Ulibarri, says the Expect More Arizona survey also found a notable trend in voters ‟sentiments about how the quality of education has changed over the past five years.” In similar polls in other states, when people want to express frustration, they generally say the education system is “staying the same.” In Arizona, voters have tipped all the way to the more critical description of viewing Arizona education as getting worse.
Specifically, the Arizona poll found: Forty-four percent believe the quality of education is “declining” and 38 percent say they believe education has not changed. Along the same line of questioning, a majority – 70 percent – described the quality of the statewide system as just fair or poor, but believe their regions are doing marginally better, with 43 percent ranking their local education system as excellent/good, and half rating it just fair/poor.
Respondents are also fully aware of the link between a solid education system and the success of the state’s economic future: Forty-three percent ranked the economy and education as the most important issues facing Arizona. In fact, nine-tenths indicate they agree economic development and job growth rely heavily on improving education across the entire continuum, and especially at the K-12 and higher education levels. Further, fewer than half (48%) said they believe Arizona is a good place for young people to start a career, a troubling statistic, given that Arizona’s college graduates are the critical workforce pipeline for a variety of the state’s current and future knowledge-based industries.
“Arizonans have for years said they want a high-quality education system, even before it became as critical as it is now to compete in the 21st century economy,” said Paul J. Luna, Chairman of the Board of Expect More Arizona. “We are finding that across the board, people are ready to take action; they realize the quality of education impacts their quality of life.”
When asked to rate elected officials on the job they have done in improving education, respondents overwhelmingly expressed dissatisfaction with their state (85%) and local (79%) elected leaders, saying they have done “just fair” or “poor.” Nearly three-quarters saying they don’t believe their elected officials are held accountable for their actions on education. However, there is an indication that voters are willing to make education a priority when casting ballots: Some 62% of those questioned say education will be one of their most or very important issue this election year.
When it comes to taking responsibility for improving education, more than three-quarters of those questioned (79%) said teachers have a great deal of responsibility, followed by parents (72%). Additionally, voters say others in government play a significant role: the Arizona Department of Education (73%), the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (70%), state lawmakers (62%) as a whole, the governor (56%) and their own state legislative representatives (55%). Nearly all of the survey’s participants (92%) said they believe they, too, assume at least some responsibility for improving education in the state.
The collective findings indicate that Arizonans are not satisfied with the state’s failure to prioritize education and may be more easily mobilized to demand more of themselves and their leaders.
“Arizonans are telling us they want a higher bar, and we are urging them to help effect change, get involved and be a voice for education – through community action and at the ballot box,” said Nicole Magnuson, Expect More Arizona Executive Director. “Arizonans have made it clear they know education is everyone’s business, and they are ready to make a change for the better.”
For a summary of the poll findings, please see click here to download a PDF.
