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."