Arizona’s achievement gap is among the smallest in the country and charter schools top many of the rankings.
Category: Press Releases
“Education is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. The Arizona Charter Schools Association commends lawmakers for their passage of legislation that will give public schools much-needed discretion in selecting the standardized assessment that best aligns with the school’s curriculum and the needs of its students.”
-Eileen B. Sigmund, President and CEO on the passage of HB2544
Arizona Charter Schools Association’s members overwhelmingly voted to donate $10,000 to support Proposition 123 on behalf of Arizona’s charter schools and students.
“Proposition 123 settles a past due bill and provides much needed stability to K-12 education funding. Our membership vote shows that Arizona’s charter schools support Proposition 123, and see it as a bridge to school finance reform focused on the students, not the systems.”
– Eileen B. Sigmund, Arizona Charter Schools Association President and CEO
Membership Voted 20-Year Charter Veteran to Serve on the Association’s Board
The Arizona Charter Schools Association’s membership elected Heidi Mitchell, Reid Traditional Schools Chief Executive Officer, to serve a three-year term as school representative on its Board of Directors.
Mitchell leads one of Arizona’s first charter schools, Reid Traditional Schools’ Valley Academy, named a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School. Mitchell also earned the distinction of being named the 2010 Arizona Charter School Business Leader of the Year and has served on the Association’s Charter Leaders Advisory Council for the past five years, currently as its chairperson.
As the school member representative on the Association’s Board of Directors, Mitchell will work with charter leaders to voice issues and concerns of the membership.
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Charter Award Winners Announced
Largest Arizona Charter Support Organization Recognizes Top Charter Teachers, Leaders and Schools
Arizona has emerged as a national leader in the charter movement, with numerous teachers, administrators, and schools who drive the success of our charter schools. The Arizona Charter Schools Association is pleased to honor these exemplary educators with our 2015 Charter Awards, which annually recognizes the top charter teacher, leader, business manager and school in Arizona. The award winners highlight some of the best of what Arizona’s charter movement has to offer.
This year, the Association is also honoring Greg and Pam Miller, founders of Challenge Charter School in Glendale and pioneers of Arizona’s charter movement, with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The Millers were an integral part of the political discussions leading up to the original successful Arizona charter school legislation.
Recognizing the academic success of Arizona’s charter schools, the U.S. Department of Education today awarded $23.6 million to Arizona to provide additional high quality charter schools to Arizona’s students.
“As public schools serving public students, charter schools are focused on improving the number of quality seats for Arizona’s students,” said Eileen Sigmund, Arizona Charter Schools Association President. “It takes two years of planning to start a high quality charter, but schools don’t get funding until students start class. Without start-up funding, it’s very difficult to find a facility, purchase textbooks and desk, and hire teachers. This grant enables our charter schools to be intentional and start right from day one.”
More than 170,500 students attend 533 public charter schools for this current school year. In 2014, 73 percent of charter schools with two years of letter grades either improved their letter grade or earned an A (A-Alt) or B (B-Alt).
Since the program’s inception, the United States Department of Education has invested about $47.5 million in Arizona’s charter schools, with an aim of strengthening accountability and quality of our schools.
This year’s state grant program awarded $125 million in new grants to eight states. The funding will enable them to run state-level grant competitions to support approximately 400 new and expanded public charter schools, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
The Arizona Supreme Court refused to hear lawsuit on student equity. While we are extremely disappointed with the Court’s decision, we will continue our fight for Arizona charter students and schools.
Beatriz Rendón Welcomed as Newest Member to Arizona Charter Schools Association Board
The Arizona Charter Schools Association is pleased to announce a new member to its Board of Directors, Beatriz Rendón, Senior Associate Vice President of Educational Outreach and Student Services at Arizona State University. See an article in the Phoenix Business Journal here.
Rendón is responsible for building and diversifying the pipeline of college going students into ASU, which includes her position as the Chief Executive Officer of ASU Preparatory Academy. The K-12 public charter school currently serves over 2,000 students in grades PreK-12.
As an education expert on the Association’s Board of Directors, Rendón will advise Arizona’s largest charter support organization in its mission to support student achievement though high-quality charter schools, advocate for student equity and charter school autonomy, and lead Arizona charter schools as a sustainable, strong and credible organization.