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

Welcome to AZ School Works online community!

We are excited to offer this website as a vehicle to capture the reflections, ideas and projects of our elected officials, education professionals, parents, and community members.

This website is for you! Join our team and share with all of us your thoughts and responses to current issues impacting the Arizona public education system.

Each week, some of the topics will include: political or government updates, candidate profiles and introductions, and updates from our Founder and Chairman, Jason Williams.

If you, or someone you know, would like to be a part of this dialogue, please download this application and email it back to supporteducation@azschoolworks.org today.

Kevin Spidel
State Director, AZ School Works

Podcast from the launch event

Webcast from the Launch at the Fair Trade Café & Gallery last night in Phoenix, AZ.

Welcome to AZ School Works

Dear friend,

I know it has been some time since you have heard from me. In fact, many people have asked what I’ve been up to since I ran for Superintendent of Public Instruction? I appreciate everyone reaching out to express their interest and support for me after we came so close to victory. Please be assured that my silence has not been due to inaction.

Today I would like to introduce you to AZ School Works.

After processing the realization that we would have to wait another four years to change the leadership and priorities within our state department of education, I knew we needed to continue our movement to ensure all of Arizona’s children are moving forward. Over the past year and a half I have been meeting with educators, community leaders and elected officials to determine our next courses of action Through my previous campaign, and these various conversations, we have identified a significant need to provide Arizona’s educators, parents, students and concerned citizens with an effective vehicle to advocate for financial reasonability and genuine, results-driven reform within our public education system. Read the rest of this entry »