State on track to receive education funding

Arizona is on the inside track to receive funds from the largest competitive federal grant ever available for education, according to one of Gov. Jan Brewer's advisers.

Deb Duvall, an adviser to Gov. Brewer's P-20 Council (preschool to community college) and former Mesa school superintendent, alerted the Yuma and Business Educational Council (YBEC) quarterly meeting of the state's good standing Tuesday.

YBEC is a group of 35 business leaders and educators organized three years ago to revitalize education. They met at the offices of the Yuma Private Industry Council, a nonprofit designed to match employees with industry needs.

Race to the Top is a $4.3 billion competitive grant available to all states and will be allocated partly based on each state's population. If Arizona's application is accepted, the state could receive in excess of $200 million next spring, Duvall said.

"Despite many who criticize Arizona's per pupil spending compared to other states, we are in a very competitive position because what the citizens of this state have done in recent years."

One thing Arizona has that others lack is Proposition 301, which among its several provisions provides annual increased teacher pay based upon improved student performance, Duvall noted.

Another advantage is Arizona's Student First legislation that provided Internet-connected, networked multimedia computers including technical support and professional development in all the state's schools. In addition, Arizona is one of the country's leading states in the number of charter schools that is also a plus in in eligibility for the Race to the Top grant.

But first Arizona must agree to adhere to educational reforms and explain how it will go about to achieve them, Duvall explained.

The four basic reforms needed to be made include, establishing content and assessment standards for all kindergarten through 12th grade students, implement a statewide longitudinal data systems that tracks each student's transcripts and the teachers who evaluated them, create a great teachers/great leaders program that not only hires certified teachers but provides professional development to make them effective (shows yearly improvement of students), and support underachieving schools with intervention programs that shows results.

Arizona was addressing these areas already but it must now go beyond its current work and identify the specific activities that will achieve the following goals, Duvall said.

The first is improve academic performance by all students. The second, is reduce achievement gaps in all subgroups within the student population such as English language learners, low-income, special education and other segments, reduce the dropout rate of high school students and make sure each high school graduate is ready for their post-secondary experience.

The latter means students are ready to take the next step after getting a diploma, whether starting college or a career, without remedial instruction in math or reading. They should be prepared to perform whatever reading or calculations are associated with the postsecondary tasks required of them, Duvall stressed.

Part of the problem rests with the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) test needed for graduation, Duvall noted. AIMS only tests knowledge through the 10th grade. It is not adequate as a college or international career-ready standard and will have to be revised to make it consistent with those benchmarks, she said.

One final condition of eligibility is Arizona has to join a consortium of states in content standard reforms and the assessment standard reforms. The state has already joined with 47 other states on content standards and is soon expected to find a consortium on assessment standards, she said.

The Race to the Top grant application must be submitted by Jan. 19, and the state will be notified about its funding by April.