“We think now’s the time to really build those expectations and provide all of our students with that world-class education, so that they can compete in the future.” Paul Luna

Watch more of Paul’s interview with Arizona Midday below, and please share this post with your friends (you can use the buttons above or below to share easily), so we can get more people to join the movement for world-class excellence in Arizona education!

With a new national report showing that children who don’t read well by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school, three Arizona foundations are leading a statewide collaborative to tackle the underlying issues preventing children, especially low-income children, from learning to read at grade level.

Joining The Campaign for Grade Level Reading, a nationwide 10 year initiative that makes reading proficiency and early reading an urgent priority, the collaboration features numerous cities and organizations across Arizona, including Helios Education Foundation, Arizona Community Foundation and Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

“Grade level reading” is a skill and benchmark that is essential to the academic and vocational success of students in Arizona and across the country.

“Third grade reading levels are strong predictors of ninth grade performance, high school graduation, and college attendance- ultimately driving the quality and competitiveness of our workforce,” said Marilee Dal Pra, Program Director, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust and a member of the Expect More Arizona Board.

The goal of The Campaign for Grade Level Reading is to address the three leading causes preventing students from reading at grade level, which include school readiness, attendance gaps, and summer learning gaps.

School readiness is inherently important as 40 percent of incoming kindergartners nationwide enter school without basic language skills and many low-income children lack early interactions that foster linguistic development which can result in up to a 30 million word gap. Looking at attendance, chronic absence is a problem for 1 in 10 kindergartners/first-graders nationwide, with some school districts having a 1 in 4 ratio for attendance. For low-income children with chronic early grade absence, the effects can impact their progress as they continue on to higher grade levels.

Recent studies show that low-income children can lose up to three months of reading comprehension skills due to summer learning loss, when compared to their more affluent peers. By the end of fifth grade, these same students can be as much as three grade levels behind. Studies also show that low-income children may hear as many as 30 million fewer words than their middle-income peers before reaching kindergarten.

In Arizona, the statewide collaborative has been created to join The Campaign for Grade Level Reading to address these three issues and ensure Arizona students have access to a world-class education. Made up of 30 organizations including nonprofits, public agencies, cities/towns, and foundations-all have signed on to make major inroads to increase early literacy and advance Arizona third graders effectively

The collaboration’s local Campaign for Grade Level Reading will promote strategies and policies that work to close reading achievement gaps, raise the bar to world class standards for reading proficiency, and ensure that all children, regardless of socio-economics, will have an equitable opportunity to meet the academic standards. In fact the Arizona Department of Education, United Way and First Things First have collected rich data that the collaborative intends to build on and further assess in an effort to continue making targeted investments to help ensure children can read at grade level.

Parents, teachers and schools looking to find out more about the campaign and how they can support this effort can start by building strong literacy skills at home.  Reading to kids when they are young and encouraging them to read on their own as they grow creates a strong foundation for reading proficiency. Reading fluency comes with practice so it is important for children to put down the video games, shut off the T.V., and spend time reading.

The Arizona Department of Education’s website also maintains all of the latest information on the status of K-12 literacy, the literacy skills children require at every age, and the programs underway, etc. at www.azed.gov. Information on the Campaign for Grade Level Reading is at: www.gradelevelreading.net.

Recognizing that too many Arizona students are currently trailing their peers in key academic areas such as reading, science and math, Expect More Arizona sees a significant opportunity to raise the bar with respect to expectations as well as in supporting bar-raising measures at all stages of the education continuum – from birth through career.

“Arizona’s students are growing up in a fast paced, ever-evolving and globally competitive world.  By creating a world-class education system, Arizona can effectively prepare our students to succeed in college and career, and ultimately, to compete with their national and international peers,” said Paul J. Luna, Chairman, Expect More Arizona and President & CEO, Helios Education Foundation.

Creating this world-class system can begin with encouraging students, families and educators to set completing college or other postsecondary program as the ultimate academic goal for all students.  With two out of three jobs of the future requiring some form of postsecondary education, the economy requires that students graduate college and career ready.  To achieve this, Arizona students must be academically prepared at every stage by supporting bar-raising measures such as higher standards and tougher curriculum – both of which foster critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and strong communication skills.

We already see examples of excellence from many schools across our state, and we believe a world-class system can be a reality for all Arizona students.

“There are schools in Arizona, even those in the most challenging of circumstances, that are competitive with the best in the nation,” said Luna. “There are students who are willing to work hard and challenge themselves, teachers and other educational leaders who hold high expectations for all students, no excuses, and parents who work with schools to build a high expectations culture in the home that reinforces the schools’ efforts.  Now, we need to shine the spotlight on the best schools and programs in our state, learn from what they are doing and emulate them.”

To accomplish this for all schools, Expect More Arizona is rallying parents, students, educators, community leaders to work together to build a shared vision of excellence.

So how can you get involved and help make education in Arizona world class? We have created a series of online resources and tools, and is regularly making presentations within the community, to help parents, families, votes and leaders become educated on the issue and take action.

Resources available include:

• College and Career Planning tools
• Parent Resources
• News and Information about what’s happening in Education
• Opportunities to get involved
• Access to a network of people across the state who care about education and the success of our students

First, Dr. Debra Duvall, Executive Director of Arizona School Administrators, talks to Arizona Midday about Common Core Standards.

Next, Center for the Future of Arizona Executive Director Dr. Sybil Francis, Yuma Union High School District Superintendent Toni Badone and Helios Education Foundation President/CEO (and Expect More Arizona Board Chair) Paul J. Luna discuss Move on When Ready on Horizon.

• Paul J. Luna, President & CEO, Helios Education Foundation and Board Chair, Expect More Arizona
• Vince Roig, Chairman, Helios Education Foundation
• Keynote: Jerry Colangelo, Principal Partner, JDM Partners and Co-Chairman, Arizona Commerce Authority
• Shelly Esque, Vice President, Intel Corporation
• Pearl Chang Esau, President & CEO, Expect More Arizona

Expect More Arizona also presented the inaugural “Excellence in Business and Education Partnerships” award to the Intel Corporation and Ms. Esque for their dedication to high expectations for education in our state.  Intel’s impact on Arizona education reaches throughout the state with programs like Intel Math which provides professional development for teachers as well as Intel’s involvement in organizations such as ABEC, Science Foundation Arizona, The Arizona Tech Council and Expect More Arizona.   Intel is a role model for other businesses and a vocal, bold champion for bar-raising measures in education.

Thank you to Intel Corporation, Mr. Colangelo and all of our speakers, and to everyone who attended the breakfast this year. Below, you can watch a video of highlights from our speakers:

The recent commitment brings Helios’ investment in Expect More Arizona to $5 million, including the seed money, which helped launch the organization in December 2008.  The investment comes at an exciting time in Expect More Arizona’s evolution as the collaborative undergoes a planned transition in leadership and embarks on executing an ambitious multi-year strategic plan.

“Helios Education Foundation has been a vital part of Expect More Arizona’s past and present success,” said Pearl Chang Esau, Expect More Arizona’s new President and CEO.  “This investment will allow us to strengthen our organization, expand our movement and ultimately create a high expectations, education-first culture in our state.”

Expect More Arizona initially launched as a public awareness campaign including multimedia advertising and robust web site with the goal of educating Arizonans about the need to improve education across the state.  Soon after its launch, the collaborative partners introduced strategies to motivate students, voters, educators and the broader community to expect more and do more for Arizona education.  During the 2010 elections the partnership contributed to the successful passage of Proposition 100, a temporary 1% sales tax in support of education and the defeat of Proposition 302, the effort to eliminate the state’s dedicated funding to early childhood health and education.  In addition, in partnership with Arizona GEAR UP, Expect More Arizona distributed more than 200,000 of its College and Career Planning Guides to 8^th, 9^th and 10^th graders across the state, promoting the importance of college and postsecondary education for all Arizona graduates.

Since its inception, Expect More Arizona has informed, educated and inspired thousands of Arizonans to vote, volunteer, advocate and invest in education.  A solid organizational foundation has been laid over the past few years and now much of the Expect More Arizona’s attention will shift to building a shared vision for excellence in education for children of all ages and at every stage of the education continuum.  The Helios gift is unprecedented in Expect More Arizona history and efforts are underway to leverage the investment to retain current funders and attract new ones, as well as expand its base of partners statewide.

Ms. Chang Esau has led the rapid expansion of Teach for America in Phoenix over the past three years.   Under her leadership, the local Teach for America chapter has grown exponentially in size and financial strength.  From 2008 to 2011, fundraising increased from $4.7 million to more than $7 million.  Her experience, which will greatly benefit Expect More Arizona, includes setting the organizational vision, cultivating strategic partnerships and leading a “team” of 28 staff members, 350 corps members (teachers), and 600 Teach For America alumni in the movement to eliminate educational inequity.  Ms. Chang Esau was also instrumental in developing a collaborative partnership between Teach for America and ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teacher’s College, resulting in  $19 million in funding for the Sanford Teaching Project, an innovative teacher development initiative.

She graduated Summa Cum Laude from UCLA, with a B.A. in Communications and double minors in Public Policy and Spanish.  A recognized “shining star” within the Teach for America system, Ms. Chang Esau started her career as a Teach for America teacher in Los Angeles.  Later, she joined the Los Angeles recruitment team, rising through various regional and national recruitment leadership positions before taking the helm of the Phoenix Region Teach for America.

Ms. Chang Esau will officially assume her new leadership position with Expect More Arizona on October 17, 2011.  Both organizations and their leadership are committed to a seamless transition and will provide appropriate flexibility to ensure Teach for America and Expect More Arizona are stable and successful through the executive transitions.   In addition to managing the team of professionals supporting Expect More Arizona, raising financial resources, cultivating strategic partnerships statewide, and working with the board on the implementation of a newly adopted strategic plan, Ms. Chang Esau will be responsible for leading the development of a multiyear business plan.

“I am excited about the enormous potential for Expect More Arizona to take an even greater leadership role in creating a culture of high expectations and influencing true change in education,” expressed Ms. Chang Esau.   “As a long-time advocate for equality and excellence in education for all children, I am honored to build on the impressive foundation that has been laid by leading Expect More Arizona into its next phase of impact.”

Expect More Arizona’s Oversight Board announced today its search for a new President and CEO.  The statewide partnership, which was officially established in December 2008, is a high expectations movement dedicated to making education Arizona’s top priority.   Championing high quality education for all kids from birth through career, the nonpartisan partnership is working to raise expectations by inspiring and mobilizing a broad-based movement of more informed and more actively engaged Arizonans.

The board is seeking a visionary leader to build public demand for a higher quality education system as the key to a strong Arizona economy and quality of life.  The position responsibilities include setting the vision and strategic direction of Expect More Arizona, managing day-to-day operations, raising and managing financial resources, cultivating strategic partnerships, developing and managing programs aligned with the organization’s mission as well as supporting the oversight board, its subcommittees and the statewide advisory council.  As a vocal champion and primary spokesperson, the President and CEO is responsible for advocating for higher expectations in education, protecting and promoting the Expect More Arizona brand as well as cultivating statewide partnerships and collaborations.

“The Expect More Arizona board is excited about this next phase of organizational growth,” said Paul J. Luna, Chairman of the Expect More Arizona Oversight Board.  “We are confident that we will find a talented individual who will advance our goals to create a culture of high expectations and shared ownership in the success of all Arizona kids.”

Nicole Magnuson has served as the Executive Director and Lead Consultant of Expect More Arizona since October 2008.  She was hired by the partners to develop a multiyear business plan to raise $2 million toward the creation of the unique pro-education collaborative and to launch Arizona’s first statewide multimedia campaign focused on raising public awareness to the importance of improving education. Since then, in partnership with the Oversight Board, she has led the development of the statewide advisory council and staff team, cultivated statewide partnerships, raised resources as well as managed the execution of the partnership’s ongoing multimedia public awareness, college and career planning and Vote 4 Education efforts.  Ms. Magnuson will remain with the organization through the search and transition to new leadership, and continue to offer support as a consultant after the transition.

“Nicole had truly set the vision for Expect More Arizona over the past few years in moving it from purely a public awareness campaign to a movement of actively engaged citizens,” commented Mr. Luna.  “Her passion for the issue is unparalleled and she has laid a solid foundation for new leadership to build upon.”

Interested parties may access the Expect More Arizona President/CEO position description at ExpectMoreArizona.org/Careers.  Please submit resumes and cover letters to Expect More Arizona, Attn: President and CEO Search, P.O. Box 16088, Phoenix, Arizona 85011-6088 or email: Nicole@ExpectMoreArizona.org.  Candidates are requested to provide salary requirements in the cover letter.  Please do not contact staff or board members directly.

Let’s continue the conversation, with your reactions and answers to the town hall questions in the comments below. In particular, how would you answer Kim Covington’s question: If you were kings or queens for the day, how would you boost student achievement?

(Note: There is a small pause during the first video. Part 2 continues in the video above, shortly after the pause).

Tonight (Thursday, May 19), we are proud to partner with Stand for Children Arizona, Valley of the Sun United Way, and 12 News to present a town hall discussion – Partnering for Change: School Solutions for Arizona. The live stream will be available in the video box below by 6pm. Please join in on the conversation on our Facebook page, 12 News’ Facebook page, and on Twitter (hashtag #12News). 

 (If for any reason, the live stream won’t play, you can also view the feed at AZCentral.com.)

The discussion is moderated by 12 News anchors Scott Light and Kim Covington, and the participants include:

•     Craig Barrett, Basis Charter School/Former Intel CEO
•     Paul Luna, President and CEO, Helios Education Foundation
•     Katy Cavanagh, Executive Director, Stand for Children Arizona
•     Daniel Scoggin, CEO, Great Heart Academies
•     Doreen Zannis, Executive Director, Support Our Schools AZ
•     Susan Carlson, Director, Arizona Business and Education Coalition
•     Andrew Morrill, President, Arizona Education Association
•     Karen Williams, Superintendent Alhambra Elementary School Dist.
•     Rebecca Gau, Director, Governor’s Office of Education Innovation