Stories tagged: "Arizona Department of Education"


Photo via Arizona Capitol Television
Many Questions Left Unanswered at First Hearing Of Arizona’s School Voucher Oversight Committee

The committee won’t meet again until November, and only has until Dec. 31 to publish its findings on whether the voucher program is running as intended as it expands.

Speaker of the House Ben Toma speaking on the floor of the Arizona House of Representatives at the Arizona State Capitol building. Toma is also the chair of the Study Committee on Empowerment Scholarship Accounts
Governance and Oversight. Photo by Gage Skidmore.
After a Rocky Start, Arizona’s School Voucher Oversight Committee Meets This Week

The committee was established in May, but vacant seats and rescheduled meetings have delayed its first hearing. It has until Dec. 31 to release a report on the state's voucher program.

hobbs budget
9 Things to Know About Arizona’s New Budget for 2023-2024

The Copper Courier has compiled a list of the biggest budget items that could impact your day-to-day life.

Buses line up outside Tempe High School in this 2021 file photo. Bus driver is just one of the positions that school administrators around the state say they have trouble filling, along with teachers, nurses, custodians, secretaries and more, as school salaries often can't compete with the private sector. (File photo by Kelly Richmond/Cronkite News)
Arizona Schools Struggle to Fill a Range of Jobs, in Classroom and Beyond

School staffers across Arizona may increasingly find themselves pressed to fill in on other jobs, as school districts struggle to fill positions across the board.

Westwood High School students make their way to classes, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022 in Mesa, Ariz. Like many school districts across the country, Mesa has a teacher shortage due in part due to low morale and declining interest in the profession. Five years ago, Mesa allowed Westwood to pilot a program to make it easier for the district to fill staffing gaps, grant educators greater agency over their work and make teaching a more attractive career. The model, known as team teaching, allows teachers to combine classes and grades rotating between big group instruction, one-on-one interventions, small study groups or whatever the team agrees is a priority each day. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Not Quite Universal, but Families Flocked to Universal Voucher Program

More than $200 million in state funds is expected to be transferred out of Arizona's public school system through the state's newly-expanded voucher program.

Kathy Hoffman (Photo courtesy of campaign)
Meet the Democratic Schools Superintendent Running to Improve Arizona’s Schools

Democratic schools superintendent candidate Kathy Hoffman says her priority if elected would be recruiting and retaining more teachers.

AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
School Superintendent Candidate Befriended, Defended Multiple Alleged Child Sex Criminals

Republican Tom Horne has repeatedly defended a child molester, voted against harsher penalties for statutory rape, and voted to reinstate a teacher who had been looking at pornography in the classroom.