Tag: Arizona Public Media
Education notebook: Districts prepare to welcome students back to classrooms. See more state education news here
Multiple school districts in southern Arizona plan on bringing students back to campus in the coming months, as parents call for in-person learning options and COVID-19 metrics improve.
This week, southern Arizona’s largest school district, Tucson Unified, announced students could return to campuses starting March 24. TUSD stands out among Tucson school districts for so far remaining in remote instruction throughout the 2020-2021 school year.
Arizona schools chief on concerns as pandemic disruptions endure. See more state education and legislative news here
Arizona’s public schools have about 65,000 fewer students enrolled than the state’s Department of Education would expect and schools cannot account for their whereabouts, according to State Superintendent Kathy Hoffman.
“We do not know where they are,” Hoffman said. “They could have moved out of state. They may be engaged in homeschooling. So there’s a lot of questions around that.”
Hoffman said her office is working with the Arizona Department of Child Safety and the Governor’s Office to help districts identify and reach out to students no longer enrolled in their schools.
#RedForEd redux? Arizona’s teachers, lawmakers fighting similar battles as in West Virginia. See more state education news here
Teachers in West Virginia walked out of their classrooms last year and rushed their state’s Capitol.
Arizona teachers followed on their heels, walking out last spring over meager paychecks and thinned classroom funding.
As West Virginia lawmakers considered a voucher-style program this year; so did Arizona lawmakers.
And with tension growing in West Virginia over legislation educators believe to be retaliation for last year’s #RedForEd walkout, tension over similar proposals in Arizona is flaring, too.
11 education bills to watch at the Arizona Capitol. See more state education news here
Almost a year after the #RedForEd walkout, state lawmakers continue to face immense pressure from educators and parents to improve Arizona’s public schools. …
Legislators spent the first month of this year’s session introducing a flurry of education bills. Many won’t make it to even the first step toward becoming law — a public committee hearing and vote.
But some have.
Arizona Education Superintendent: Teacher Shortage a ‘Crisis’. See more state education news here
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman told the state House Education Committee that the teacher shortage is a “crisis.”
During her first state of education speech to the committee, Hoffman said when she speaks with teachers they often talk about pay.
“Time and time, pay, competitive pay, is always the top issue. Many feel their pay has even been decreasing over the years,” she said.
State Bill Aims to Reduce Teen Vaping. See related news here
Arizona Sen.-elect Heather Carter is proposing a bill to clear up the law so it is more difficult for teens to buy tobacco products, especially e-cigarettes.
Nearly 12 percent of U.S. high school students and 3 percent of middle school students use e-cigarettes, according to the 2017 National Youth Tobacco Survey.
Arizona schools win big as state racks up $330M in land sales. See more state education news here
Earlier this year, a piece of state-owned land in north Phoenix sparked an hourlong bidding war. The winner? Arizona school.
The 269-acre parcel in Desert Ridge sold for $79 million, about $25 million more than its appraised value. Since then, the Arizona State Land Department has been on a selling spree.
The agency charged with managing 9.2 million acres across Arizona sold more than $330 million in land during 2018. That’s up from $44 million in 2017.
Arizona teen suicide prevention hotline calls increase before holidays. See related news here
While many teens count down the days until their holiday breaks, some aren’t so excited.
“There’s a lot of misconception about holidays and even breaks being a time that kids are happy about being on vacation, that kids are happy about not being at school,” Nikki Kontz, clinical director for Teen Lifeline, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday.
Teen Lifeline is a nonprofit dedicated to teen suicide prevention that was founded in Phoenix in 1986.
Calls to the group’s crisis hotline typically increase in the weeks leading up to holiday breaks, Kontz said in a blog post.
Arizona Fails to Allocate Early Childhood Education Funds Efficiently, Report Finds. See other state education news here
By Candace Manriquez Wrenn • Arizona Public Media Arizona scored near the bottom in a report ranking how efficiently states distribute money for early childhood education. The Bipartisan Policy Center ranked Arizona 42nd in the nation. The report found that there are just too many agencies in charge of federal dollars and conflicting age and income […]
Arizona’s New Schools Superintendent on Challenges to Education Policy Change
For the first time in more than two decades, Arizonans elected a Democrat to the role of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Kathy Hoffman won a tight race against Republican Frank Riggs. Hoffman discussed some of her top priorities, how she plans to work across the aisle and some of the challenges she foresees.
