PASS links teachers, businesses
A chance for schools to connect Arizona academic standards with industry's comes online this summer as the Partners Advancing Student Success (PASS) workshops are made available for teachers in Yuma for the first time.
PASS programs already in operation last year in Phoenix, Prescott and other state locations will be held in Yuma and Scottsdale this summer. Integrating real job skill requirements into classroom lesson plans, PASS offers teachers an "extraordinary" opportunity at Gila Ridge High School from June 22 to 26, Toni Badone, Yuma Union High School District superintendent, noted.
"I was approached last summer by the Arizona K-12 Center about PASS and I was very impressed," Badone said. "It will be very beneficial and if I was a teacher, I would choose to go through this."
For a $25 commitment fee, teachers will receive 45 hours of professional development skills. The program is open to all levels of teaching from kindergarten to 12th grade and all content areas but they must must be registered by June 12. For more information, they can go online at www.azk12.org/azk12events/eventspub/view/188 or phone 502-4681.
"A lot of our teachers are not from here and don't know about the economic drivers in this area," Badone said. "But PASS incorporates 21st-century skills that businesses require for their employees."
She said it is also a great networking opportunity for teachers to get to know business people and then tailor their classroom instruction to prepare students for the world of work.
"It's not just learning the minimal things you need to know but it's assimilating the passion that gets business people enthusiastic about work," Badone said. "If you truly love your work, then you never have to work a day in your life."
The Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp. (GYEDC) is sponsoring this summer's opportunity with the support of Qwest Communications.
After the summer session concludes, teachers and business leaders will reconvene Oct. 24. Teachers will present the units they have planned for students to connect academic standards with workplace skills standards.
"We think this is a real asset in bringing business and education together in order to align their goals," said Julie Engel, GYEDC president. "It will create workforce pipelines."
Jeanine Rhea, Hampton Suites general manager and a program participant, said businesses should do whatever they can to support PASS.
"We have to help our own, we can't always rely on public funding," Rhea said. "These teachers need to understand what their students need in order to raise them to level of the business world so they can better prepare them."
Linda Jones, a Kofa High School math teacher who will participate in the workshop, recalled the four years she spent getting a master's degree while a single mother but she is still searching for professional development programs. She said that summer is an opportune time to take advantage of PASS and the price is affordable.
She added that teachers realize the importance of standards such as AIMS yet despite its rigors, even those students who meet standards sometimes still will not qualify for a job. Therefore she wants to show her students the relevancy of what she does in the classroom and how it applies to the job.
"Kids are always asking how are we ever going to use algebra," Jones said. "They'll use math almost every day. After the workshop, it is something I can pass along and be able to show them how to apply their skills in a job environment."
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PASS BUSINESS PARTICIPANTS
• JCI
• Bard Date
• Shaw
• Time Warner
• Alside
• Northwestern Industries
• Hampton Inn
• Holiday Inn (all three hotels)
• Booth Machinery
• Papa-San
• Arizona Public Service
• Southwest Gas
• Hansberger Refrigeration
• Howard Blitz
• 1st Bank Yuma – Terry
• Wayne Benesch
• Colorado River Technologies
• Goodwill
• YPIC
• Clarion Suites
• Ramada Inn
• Best Western Inn Suites
• AWC
• AEA Federal Credit Union
• Figari and Associates
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William Roller can be reached at
wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.
