ARSA REPORTSOfficial Publication of the Arizona Rural Schools Association
in this issue...
Moving On With the LegislatureBy Bill Blong
As we move into the New Year, ARSA is looking forward to a productive year. FY 2013 brought another year of budget shortcomings to critical K-12 education programs. It’s time to reaffirm the commitment to education in the state by supporting equitable programs that address the needs of public schools students. Federal dollars only represent an estimated 10% spent of the cost of education in this state. Arizona still ranks near the bottom for per pupil spending but somehow beats the national average of money spent in the classroom.
Our state legislature faces a number of challenges again this year and one that has been kicked around and picked apart since 2008 is funding K-12 education in the state. Federal grants you have become more and more competitive over years and states find themselves competing against other states for limited funds. States need additional monies to build new assessments and data accountability systems in order to compete. These costs are passed along to the school districts, and rural districts in particular find themselves at a disadvantage with limited manpower in their district to write competitive grants.
The Governor’s plan includes a 1.4% inflation factor increase to the base level (due to a lawsuit) and plans to permanently suspend the formula used to fund classroom materials, supplies and capital funding. On another issue, she proposes to complete a statewide fiber network and plans to pay for it by charging districts $15 per student over 6 years. Reliable high speed internet and bandwidth needs to be in place before all Arizona students are able to take on-line assessments, but reducing the amount given to districts is not the answer. There is no doubt that having enough broadband statewide is critical to improving education and economic growth, but we must take it one step at a time.
Arizona arguably doesn’t spend enough on education and it is a significant issue. They are now working to expand the voucher system by increase empowerment scholarships that should expand private school attendance and reduce the financial burden of students attending private schools. I have yet to see a correlation between increasing school choice for Arizona students and improving education in the state.
There is still a lot of room to get to where we need to be, and sometimes you wonder why our Legislature works so hard to solve problems we don’t have. Good schools happen when you have high-quality teachers and strong leadership. Rural schools are filled with those dedicated professionals, but they need the resources to be competitive. The value in training a literate society and preparing the youth for tomorrow is crucial for the survival of a community. Public education use to be a public service. Your influence is needed to keep it that way. Be informed, be a part, and speak up for education in this state.
Page 1 • Letter from the
Executive Director
Page 3 • Teacher of the Year
Page 5 • Core Six Book
Review
• New Resume System
Activation Code
Page 7 • ARSA Executive
Board
Page 9 • Nominate Your ARSA
Teacher of the Year
• Share Your Expertise
Page 11 • ARSA Teacher of
the Year Nomination
Form 2014
Page 12 • Save the Date!
Winter 2014
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Torie Ellison 2013 Arizona Rural Teacher of the Year
I was born in the small town of White Deer, Texas to Edward and Mina Herring and raised by my Granny on a small farm ten miles outside of town. Growing up playing school was my favorite pastime and she made me a classroom in our farm house basement. In first grade, I got into trouble retrieving materials out of the classroom trash can. We made an agreement then on, I would no longer go into the trash and my teacher would save all of her extras for me. I attended West Texas A and M University in Canyon, Texas graduating in 2005 in Elementary Education, with a SPED K-12 certification. Throughout college I worked as tutor and after graduation I taught 5th grade for two years in a rural community in Texas. In 2008 I got married to my amazing husband Chris, and we moved to Odessa, Texas where I taught 3rd grade until my husband’s job transferred us to Aurora, Colorado. I was sad to leave my home and my family in Texas, but excited about taking a job teaching moderate needs special education. I loved it!!!! Special education was truly where I found my deepest passion. After living in Colorado for two years we decided to move closer to family in Casa Grande, where we are still living with our cute little fur baby of a dog named Flounder.
I am currently teaching for the Toltec Elementary School District in Pinal County in Arizona City. Teaching special education for the severe and profound has stolen my heart and soul. There have been so many amazing memories and successes in teaching this group of children. We see new sparks fly and fires ignite everyday as we mainstream into Kindergarten. It is an awesome wonder to see them grow and interact with their peers. The children I teach hold my heart each and every day. My goal in life is to make an imprint on people’s hearts and lives. I believe I do that every day with my students, I love and believe in them and have high expectations for all of them! What makes me a successful teacher I believe is my passion for these students and always teaching with love.
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He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool; shun him. He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, can be taught; teach him. He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep; wake him. He who knows, and knows that he knows, is a prophet; follow him.
Persian apothegm
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The Core Six: Essential Strategies for Achieving Excellence with the Common Core by Harvey F. Silver, R. Thomas Dewing, and Matthew J. Perini and published by ASCD.
The following is a book review regarding strategies to assist in the implementation of the Arizona College and Career Readiness Standards. The Antelope Union High School staff used this book, The Core Six: Essential Strategies for Achieving Excellence with the Common Core for a recent professional development activity. The staff completed the book in teams and presented their findings as part of this activity. The authors of Core Six assume that any schools using the ideas in the book are already deep into the new standards. The book presents strategies that can provide a central focus for faculties and assist in creating a common ground that may improve performance and increase student engagement. The Core Six Areas Include: Reading for Meaning, Compare and Contrast, Inductive Learning, Circle of Knowledge, Write to Learn, Vocabulary’s CODE
Reading for Meaning is designed to help students develop skills used by proficient readers, which will aide in making sense of rigorous texts. This strategy helps improve the management of text complexity, evaluating and using evidence, and developing core reading skills.
Compare and Contrast focuses on conducting comparative analysis of academic content, conducting comparative reading of two or more texts, and integrating information from multiple sources.
Inductive Learning supports students to find patterns and structures built into the content through an inductive process. This strategy serves to build pattern discovery, make logical inferences, support thinking with evidence, and academic vocabulary mastery.
Circle of Knowledge is used to foster discussions that engage all students in deeper thinking and improved communication. The strategy builds the following skills: speaking, listening, presenting as a whole, integrating and evaluating information, and peer collaboration.
Write to Learn integrates writing into daily instruction with a focus on college and career readiness. This concept develops higher order thinking skills through writing, writing in text types including arguments, informative/explanatory texts, and narratives.
Vocabulary’s CODE improves vocabulary instruction and retention. This area focuses on crucial vocabulary terms toward mastery, improving literacy in reading, writing, speaking/listening, and language and building background knowledge as a foundation.The Antelope faculty divided into six teams, each team read and prepared a presentation for the staff and provided lesson plan ideas and classroom strategies related to the team’s particular CORE. The book was well received by the staff and provided various engagement ideas to use in the classroom. In particular, the faculty mentioned engagement as a strong point of the book and felt that integrating more writing into the daily curriculum will improve all-around mastery. Laura Campbell from the Yuma High School District provided a related professional development presentation for the staff to coincide with the book activities. Please contact me if you have any questions utilizing Core Six for PD.
Book Review by Dr. Andrew L. Smith, Superintendent of the Antelope Union HSD
New Activation Code for our RESUME SYSTEMLooking for Teachers? The Resume System is a service to our members looking to fill positions for the 2014-2015 School Year. The activation code changes each year, so ARSA members are invited to set up an account to access the current applicants. We purge old resumes from the Resume System on our website each year in February so you have recent candidates to choose from. We are going to TARIAT at NAU in March to invite prospective teachers to post their resumes, and we also solicit through postings at universities, job fairs, and web resources around the country. Feel free to call contact us you have any further questions.
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Contact us to talk about your next project.
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President Kit Wood Mobile School District
President-ElectKarl Uterhardtt Tombstone Unified District
Secretary/ Treasurer Wes Brownfield Chino Valley Unified District
Past-President Kathe Ketchem Retired
County Superintendent Janice Shelton La Paz County School Superintendent
Higher Education Patty Horn Northern Arizona University
Business Advisor Tim O’Malley The O’Malley Group
Regional Representative NE - Lance Heister Winslow Unified District NW - John Warren Topock School District SE - Justin DeMellow Pinal County
SW - Andy Smith Antelope Union HSD
Maricopa Region Robin Berry Palo Verde School District
Executive Director Bill Blong
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Henry Ford
Nominate Your Teacher of
the Year before April 1st
The ARSA Teacher of the Year Program
recognizes the hard working, outstanding
teachers you have in your schools.
It is open to Arizona Rural Schools
statewide.
The paperwork is minimal, and it can be a
life changing experience.
Take a moment to nominate that teacher
in your school.
Teachers will be recognized from every
county in the state and one will represent
Arizona at the national convention.
Don’t let the urgent outweigh the
important!
Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.
Share Your Expertise at our
2014 Annual Conference
ARSA is currently accepting
Presentation Proposals for the 2014
Annual Conference to be held at Little
America September 18-20th.
You can download the form from our
website at www.azruralschools.org.
Proposals will be accepted through
April 1, 2014. Please contact us if you
have any questions.
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ARSA TEACHER OF THE YEAR 2014
INSTRUCTIONS FOR NOMINATIONS
The undersigned hereby nominates the following teacher, who has made significant contributions as a classroom teacher, as a candidate for the Arizona Rural Schools Association TEACHER OF THE YEAR. TEACHER’S NAME ___________________________________________________ SCHOOL ___________________________ DISTRICT ________________________ COUNTY ___________________________________________________________ Your Nomination Packet must include ALL of the following:
• Your letter of Nomination describing: o The contributions the teacher has made as a teacher with students and
colleagues. o The impact the teacher had made with students, parents, and the Community. o The accomplishments the teacher has achieved within the rural school.
• The completed Nomination Form in the format it is presented. It may be reproduced on
a computer; however the format must remain the same including the number of spaces designated for each area.
• The Signature Page (Only one signature is required.)
Do Not Substitute This Form with A Resume Or Vita
SIGNATURE OF NOMINATOR ______________________________________________________
Telephone: _____________________ e-‐mail:___________________________________________________
Nominations Close April 1, 2014
Please limit nominations to one teacher per school. Thank you!
The entire application is available on our website or contact us for more information.
William Blong, Executive Director, PO Box 3123, Parker, AZ 85344 Phone: 928.575.4501; email: [email protected]; (fax) 928.575.4502;
Arizona Rural Schools AssociationP.O. Box 3123Parker, AZ 85344
PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE
PAIDPHOENIX,AZ
PERMIT NO.750
Save The Date!
September 18-20, 2014Little America•Flagstaff, AZ
Arizona Rural Schools Association2014 Annual Conference
REGISTERNOW!
Registration forms are currently availableon our website: www.azruralschools.org