My Blog

By Bonnie Weppner, Pioneer Preparatory School Teacher

I started my career 44 years ago teaching kindergarten to recent immigrant students, including the children of migrant farm workers, who had previously not been allowed to attend public schools in Texas. It’s amazing to me that my first kindergarten students are now 49 years old!

My career has come full circle, as I am now teaching kindergarten to English Language Learner students of immigrant families in Arizona.

I continue to be motivated by the excitement and the daunting responsibility of being the first contact with formal education for my students! I am honored to introduce my Spanish-speaking scholars and families to the excitement of learning and growing in ways they could never have imagined, which is exactly what they tell me every year at kindergarten graduation. In turn, they present me with opportunities to grow every day in my teaching skills, and to love this profession even more!

This excerpt originally appeared in the “Principal’s Corner” section of Arizona School for the Arts’ newsletter. Sara Maline Bohn is principal of ASA and was named the Arizona Charter School Association’s 2017 Charter Transformational Leader of the Year.

Sara Maline Bohn

Arizona School for the Arts received a unique opportunity to hear from ASA alum David Hallberg, when he visited The School of Ballet Arizona in December to speak with our ballet students. Hallberg is a professional ballet dancer who recently released his book, “A Body of Work: Dancing to the Edge and Back.” During the visit, he shared the influence ASA had on him both during his childhood and extending into adulthood. He enrolled at ASA in eighth-grade and graduated in 2000 at which time he joined American Ballet Studio’s Company.

By Sami Majeed

I can remember being a toddler, steadying myself against my grandmother’s wooden chair in Karachi, Pakistan, as she sat with an open book, running two fingers down a page for a few seconds, then running two fingers down the next page. I asked her an unpretentious question, “What are you doing, grandma?” “Reading, bata [little one], reading,” she said.

My grandmother’s dream was to open a school of her own, one where she would have the freedom to teach to the child. One that was informed not by punishments and rewards but through scouring neuroscience articles on learning and child development.

You see, I come from a family of educators. My maternal great grandparents were high school math teachers and district leaders in India. In fact, my great grandfather made a highly scandalous and controversial first step: he threw away traditions and allegiances to patriarchy, stood deftly in the face of criticism and ridicule, and took the miraculous and radically simple step of educating his daughter, my grandmother.

By Christie Megura, NFL Yet College Prep Academy Teacher 

Why do I choose to teach in Arizona?

I hear this question a lot from my parents, colleagues and friends who live outside of our state, who see the additional hours and costs I spend on my profession.

For a long time, pursuing a high level of excellence and expertise was a major factor that kept me engaged in the classroom. But this year I earned my National Board Certification, and for the first time I found myself asking, “Why do I choose to teach in Arizona?”

It’s because of students like Miriam.

By Eileen Sigmund

Reflecting back on 2017, we wanted to highlight how the Arizona Charter Schools Association has worked with our charter community to advance opportunities for our 185,900 students and 556 schools across Arizona.

For decades, our state has been a national leader in education freedom – the radical concept that parents know their own children best and should be empowered to select a school for them that is the right fit.

Parents are using that fundamental right as nearly 1 in 2 K-8 students in Maricopa County don’t attend the district school to which they were assigned based on home address. The Association was a partner in this first-of-its kind research. The actual number is almost certainly higher as we only looked at district and charter school students and didn’t take into account those who are homeschooled, attend private or online schools, or are enrolled in high school.

Charters and choice are the new norm.

By Yvonne Watterson

Arizona, we know families like to choose the best educational fit for their child, and now 14 new charter schools are coming your way.

On Monday, the Arizona State Board of Education made this possible by approving federal Charter School Program grants to schools that will mainly serve low-income families.

These non-profit schools will use the money to open new schools or expand enrollment, increase grade levels and replicate campuses already serving Arizona students.

While the Board approved an unprecedented number of federal start-up grants, this is the final round of the charter school expansion funding from the U.S. Department of Education.

This grant is the only source of funding Arizona charter schools have access to prior to the first day of school.

Think about that.

By Ashley Sweigert, Imagine Tempe Teacher

Why do I love to teach?

For me, it’s that moment when you’re with your students and they are learning something new. That moment when they are struggling with a problem, but work together as a class to figure it out. You’ll see students jump up, start collaborating with one and other, using phrases such as “well I respectfully disagree with you because” or “I respectfully agree with you because.”

I enjoy being able to step back as their facilitator and watch my students as they take ownership of their own learning. Then you’ll notice that “lightbulb go off” and they’ll raise their hands in the air saying, “Miss Sweigert! Miss Sweigert! We figured it out!”

That is why I love teaching.

By Jamar Younger

Arizona parents continue to demand education freedom, and public charter schools serve as a growing number of those choices.

More than 185,900 students have enrolled in charter schools this year, with tens of thousands more waiting to attend schools at capacity.

Recently, a few of those parents have raised their voice in support of their school of choice. These parents wanted to remind the public that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work when it comes to their child’s education.

Below are excerpts of opinion columns recently published in newspapers across Arizona. These stories serve as a reminder that public charter schools are a thriving sector in Arizona’s public education landscape.