By Tara Boedigheimer
In 2011, when our son Drew was just two years old, we experienced every parent’s worst nightmare.
We were given the shocking and completely unexpected news, by a pediatric cardiologist, that our precious boy was critically ill with a very rare form of cardiomyopathy–and in need of a heart transplant. It was the only thing that could save his life. Not only that, he needed it immediately and the transplant program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital was very new and not approved by our insurance to handle Drew’s situation.
The Arizona Charter Schools Association is proud to announce the hiring of Matthew Simon as its Director of Government Affairs. Simon, a Tucson native, joins the Association after serving as Education Policy Advisory for Senate Majority Staff. During his time at the Arizona State Legislature, Simon developed a wealth of education finance and policy knowledge. Simon is a former high school science teacher and Teach for America corps member. He graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Political Science and is working towards his MBA in 2019.
Rapid enrollment growth over the past 20 years has demonstrated the popularity of public charter schools when parents are given an option in their children’s education. In Arizona, 180,000 students now attend one of 547 charter schools across the state. Since 2007-08, charter enrollment nationally has more than doubled and now stands at nearly 3 million.