History
In her 1999 State of the State address, Governor Jane Dee Hull called for the creation of an Arizona K-12 Center that would support teacher professional development so that teachers, in turn, could enhance their students' learning.
The Legislature approved and funded the Arizona K-12 Center to begin in July, 1999. In the next several years, the Center expanded by collaborating and partnering with Arizona's universities, other state and national learning institutions, educational organizations, and community and business leaders.
Currently, the Arizona K-12 Center continues to bring innovative ideas and professional development support to Arizona educators. Under the leadership of Governor Napolitano, the Regents' universities and other members of the Board of Directors, the Center is shaping a more pro-active role in developing teacher leadership and providing quality professional development opportunities to educators to improve teaching practice and student achievement.
Most quality school reform efforts focus primarily on the end result of improving K-12 student performance. At the core of these efforts is a call to rethink the practice of teaching in ways that would raise standards, increase student achievement, reshape curricula, and restructure the way schools operate. The Arizona K-12 Center was created to bring these topics into focus in order to increase Arizona teachers' abilities to improve student performance. The Center supports the professional development of educators as they work to become teacher leaders in their schools and assist their students in achieving the high standards that have been set.
