"Action is eloquence." ~William Shakespeare

"Talk doesn't cook rice." ~Chinese Proverb

There's so much that needs to be done to support teachers to perform at their best, I sometimes don't know where to start. But what I do know is that we have to take action. We can't afford to get bogged down in endless theoretical debates that don't produce actual steps to be taken. Looking at the landscape of education in Arizona, there ought to be more change happening. Of course, there are significant obstacles, including the recent and extremely acute budget cuts. But the truth is some arguments simply go on and on and never produce real outcomes.

If we're not happy with our professional development, we educators need to take charge and do something about it. We can't wait for outside entities to get this accomplished for us. We can't waste the time. Our mission is too urgent. Students don't stop going to school. They can't take a decade off while we sort it all out. For students, the opportunity to learn is now. Or never.

That's why here at the Center we're focused on action. We talk to educators, find out what they need and put together programs that speak to these needs. We have a healthy impatience with postponement and delay. In a sense, action is our study, because by providing new professional development we can see what works and what doesn't. And in the process, teachers are learning, being rejuvenated and gaining new tools to excel.

Now, as we're planning for next year's professional development calendar, we want to hear from you. Share your thoughts with us on teacher quality and professional development. What do you need? What type of program or training would make a real difference in your practice? Give us your input. Respond directly to us by email at info@azk12.org. Or visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/azk12 to tell us what type of support you'd like to see included in the future. We're ready to take action.

We’re celebrating our 10-year anniversary at the Arizona K-12 Center this year. Just the fact that we’re still here, providing quality professional development for teachers, is something to feel good about. Too often, we launch new efforts in education, but don’t stay committed long enough to realize real results. And as we all know, you don’t change schools and student performance overnight. Fortunately, the state has allowed us time to grow and establish programs that empower teachers to enhance their practices and be at their best for their students. And we are grateful for this.

I personally joined the Center five years ago. What started as an exciting new opportunity now feels more like a calling. The privilege to collaborate with colleagues in order to create resources teachers really need is one I don’t take lightly. It’s been a thrill to see teachers grow professionally and connect with other educators who share their passion. It’s been especially satisfying to watch teachers become empowered and take on the leadership roles so critical to our schools. Continue reading "Staying Power: Ten years and counting."

One of the most exciting aspects of our work at the Center is seeing the difference a single teacher can make. In all the talk of what’s wrong with education and what’s right with education, one thing I know for sure is that a passionate, focused teacher is our most precious asset and the best chance a K-12 student has of excelling in school.

One teacher can change the course of a student’s entire academic outlook. One teacher can transform a classroom from a dreary, dull place into a bright space of discovery and learning. But it doesn’t stop there. One teacher can spark an entire staff of teachers to step up and pursue their appetite for excellence, which was the reason they got into the profession in the first place.

Continue reading "The Power of One"

My niece Jessica’s graduation from the University of Arizona last month was a special day. It brought back memories of her as a little girl growing up, and how she always wanted to be a music teacher. Now here she was graduating with her degree in music education, preparing to set out on the very career she’d dreamed of when she was a child herself. It was beautiful to see her accomplish that goal.

Jessica strongly believes that kids need a sound foundation in the arts, and you can be sure she doesn’t get any argument on that point from her aunt. Now she’s in a position to do something about it, as she’s been hired by the Chandler Unified School District to teach music. Continue reading "Now more than ever: new teachers need our passion, support and guidance."

One of the fundamental facts about working in K-12 education is that no matter what is happening around us, we can never lose sight of our focus: providing kids with the best possible education. Personally, I’m no less passionate about this purpose and neither is the staff at the Arizona K-12 Center.

Like virtually everyone in the education community in Arizona, we’ve undergone significant cuts in funding. Yet our mission is no less urgent. If anything, the need to help teachers enhance their practices and become more accomplished educators and leaders is greater than ever. The fewer teachers working in our schools directly with kids, the more support they need. Continue reading "Tough times require us to search out new opportunities."

We’re always excited to learn about new professional development opportunities for teachers, so this year’s series of trainings at the Biosphere are of special interest. The Center is teaming up with the University of Arizona, the Arizona Science Foundation and the STEM Center to offer this teacher training in science and math content areas.

These trainings are unique. Conducted within the Biosphere, a remarkable scientific facility known around the world, teachers will have the chance to work side by side with scientists conducting real research. They will then be able to draw from this research to replicate similar experiments in their classrooms with their students. What a wonderful way for teachers to strengthen their science and math curriculum.
Continue reading "Supporting Science Learning at the Biosphere"

“What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.”

When I heard President Obama express this in his inauguration speech, I couldn’t help but think how strongly this applies to teachers. For years teachers have accepted the responsibility of educating our children, not grudgingly, but with sincere passion. We know well the satisfaction of fulfilling a difficult task, don’t we?  It’s one of the reasons we became teachers in the first place.


Continue reading "Stepping up for our students."

2008 is coming to a close and we’re facing some big challenges. The economic downturn and real estate collapse in Arizona have hit budgets hard. The Arizona K-12 Center has been forced to cut back, along with school districts and most people. But our mission isn’t any less urgent.

The students in our schools today require just as good an education, if not better, than those who attended in stronger economic times. So we can’t let down just because the going has gotten tougher. In fact, now more than ever, we all need to advocate for the profession of teaching and for students. Education shouldn’t be seen as a casual expenditure but as a capital investment.



Continue reading "Change starts with an idea."

As teachers, we’ve always told our students that they could do or be anything they wanted to be. But did we really believe it? Or was it just our way of hoping for the best for them?

Now, with the election of Barak Obama to be the next United States President, we know any given student really can become anything. After all, Obama is half black, came from a single parent home, and for much of his childhood was raised by his grandmother under modest circumstances.

This raises the stakes for teachers. There are students in our classrooms today who will change the world for the better. They will find the cure for AIDS and cancer. They will develop answers for global warming. This isn’t just hopeful rhetoric anymore; this is simple plain fact. And we as teachers are called upon to step up and give them the education they need to meet their destinies. We can’t discriminate when it comes to our students; every child needs the best possible education, as if they were preparing for the presidency. Continue reading "Which of Your Students is the Next President?"

Welcome to the Arizona K-12 Center blog, where you can find out more about what is happening in K-12 education statewide in Arizona, specifically in the area of professional development for teachers. In our complex educational system, there are a few simple truths. One of these is that the better the teacher, the better the student. At the Center, we are focused on supporting excellence in professional development as an essential means for improving student performance now and in the future. Continue reading "Inspiration by example."