Second AZ School Works Endorsement: Aaron Jahneke

I am running for the Washington School Board because I know the district well. I grew up attending Washington Elementary District #6 from 1982-1989. During that time I witnessed a lot of changes to the district. Demographics and socioeconomic circumstances have changed considerably. Moreover, English Language Learners (ELL) and special education student enrollment numbers have soared since the 1990s. This, coupled with decreased state funding as a result of the district no longer being in a “growth” area have led to unique challenges in the district.

Having said that, I believe every child CAN and SHOULD learn. I want to improve the culture of the Washington Elementary School District by increasing community outreach and promoting the many good things the district does on a daily basis to increase student learning. I will fight to improve the morale for both employees and students at the middle school sites to ensure that students are safer and happier to be at their schools. This can and will be done by empowering the parents, administrators, and educators to collaborate more effectively together in the decision-making process. Read the rest of this entry »

Munoz Jr. and Loredo on Roosevelt School District Receivership

email: vince.yanez@azed.gov for community feedback

Is Unification the Answer?

What most frustrates me about the unification effort are the non-issues that are touted, taking the spotlight away from the real issues in K-12 education.

The commission and unification supporters claim that unification will “streamline the financial resources” of the district yet they have offered no evidence.  The norm among Phoenix elementary school districts is the utilization of intergovernmental agreements like the Mohave contract.  This allows districts to procure the best deal for products and services. Also, in looking at dollars spent in the classroom, unified districts do not spend more in the classroom than elementary or high school districts.  In fact, six of the top ten large districts in the state were elementary or high school districts including Cartwright Elementary and Alhambra, two districts targeted by the unification proposal.  Additionally, Arizona spends less on central administration than the average nationally at 9.5% compared to 11% (ASBA Legal Services).  Arizona administrative salaries are also below the US.  The commission has offered no evidence that unification will be more cost-effective and the aforementioned evidence challenges the assumption there is a “problem”.

Arizona leaders have made huge strides in meeting the commission’s main goal of unification: “a fully-coordinated, continuous instructional plan for students beginning in kindergarten and ending with the senior year in high school ultimately support a more productive education career for the students involved (SDRC FAQ).”  This is already occurring through the implementation of K-12 state standards.  All students are required to have a particular knowledge base at various points in their Arizona public education and the AIMS test is a way to measure that progress.  The commission misses the mark when they state this as their goal.  If they really cared about kids, their goal would be to improve student achievement.  Trying to get there would lead to a forced election, that if approved, would create a bureaucracy that no Phoenix schools under the proposal support.

So if Arizona education is fairing better than unification supports claim, why the push for redistricting?

Those of us in education know that there is no silver bullet in education.  Can we do better?  Of course. Is unification the answer?  No.

Tiffany Troidl
AZ School Works Political Director

AZSW Updates Supporting Public Education

AZ School Works (AZSW) exists to provide diverse, grassroots support for public education.  One of our primary vehicles to accomplish this goal is our School Board Recruitment Initiative.  School board members have a tremendous impact on school administrators, teachers and our children’s classrooms based upon their opinions and decisions.

Through our online community, we hope to provide motivation, cultivation, and advice for strong, public education advocates interested in running for their local school boards and supporting our local public schools.

Recently, Tiffany Troidl (Creighton School Board Member) provided advice for newly elected school board members.  Our first school board candidate, Robin Stamp, posted his profile, and received an official endorsement and contribution from AZSW.  Mark Trinitapoli offered his insight as a former educator on the importance of compensation as a critical component to teacher retention.  And, I offered my thoughts on the current economic difficulties for our school districts.

This month, we will continue to build our online conversation by soliciting input from more community members, educators, parents, and students.  In fact, as we continue to grow, supporters want to know how to get more involved.  There are several ways.  Lend your voice as a guest contributor (application here) on our website, nominate, or inform us of, school board candidates who are strong advocates for public education, host a house party, and/or make a contribution to help build our organization and provide the needed resources to accomplish our goals (donate here.)

As always, many thanks for all your support!

With hope and determination,

Jason Williams
Founder and Chairman, AZ School Works Political Action Committee