Topic: News & Press

Phoenix, AZ – After celebrating the passage of two monumental education bills this legislative session, the Stand AZ team is proud to welcome John Fisher as its new Executive Director. John comes to Stand AZ with many years of experience in the education field and has a demonstrated commitment to improving children’s’ lives through education.

We have two exciting things to share with you: 

1.    HB2823, our Teaching and Principal Effectiveness Bill is now  a law!  2.Today we celebrate the two year anniversary of organizing in Carl Hayden!

Last week, HB2823 was voted on in the Senate and passed overwhelmingly. The bill then went to Governor Brewer's desk, and she quickly signed it into law!

During today’s State of the State speech, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer mentioned the importance of several new education reforms as outlined in her Four Cornerstones of Reform plan,including educator accountability tied to student academic growth.

“We must find a way to fund the results we want and reward those educators who guide us into our next century,” said Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. “That's my commitment to children for the next century, quality teachers, a safe environment, a setting of parents' choosing, data driven decisions and the highest of standards.”

Even as initiatives to increase school accountability go into effect, Arizona lacks an effective database for tracking teacher performance and student achievement. And education officials say the state has a long way to go before it can even manage data in a meaningful way.

Jaime Molera, president of the State Board of Education, told lawmakers and education officials today that the state will “have to essentially rebuild” its current data system in order to get it to where it needs to be.