EDITOR’S NOTE {on the job}
THE YEAR OF THE STUDENT A few months back, Social Venture Partners Arizona held its inaugural Ed Pitch, where college students from around the state presented ideas for innovating education. I was inspired to see young people share their solutions to education challenges in Arizona.
Since the time we planned this issue, education in Arizona has become arguably the state’s most talked-about issue. So we are pleased to offer a look at what some of the nonprofits in our community are doing to offer a brighter future for Arizona’s young people.
How would these bright young minds improve pre-K to 12th grade education? Beto Vargas would combine face-to-face and online instruction in language arts classrooms. Alexandra Mooney and Cyrus Commissariat would develop an early literacy program for children in Native American communities, where only 11 percent of kids currently are proficient in English language arts. Christopher Figueroa would connect high school students with high-performing community college peers to help bridge the gap between high school and college. Samantha Mooney and Karis Felthouse would match retired volunteer mentors with vulnerable youth to address the 924:1 student-to-counselor ratio in Arizona. And the winner of the Judges Choice Award, Amanda Gyrzkewicz would incorporate the “I Can Math” curriculum into pre-K classrooms to build foundational skills and provide hands-on experience for future educators.
Our cover story spotlights College Success Arizona, which helps low-income and underrepresented youth not only attend Arizona’s colleges and universities, but succeed at them. In our 10 Questions column, Arizona literacy director Terri Clark addresses Read On Arizona’s work to help the state’s third graders read at grade level. Charity Spotlight looks at Casa Center for Positive Social Change’s groundbreaking efforts to prevent abuse in the next generation. And Carey Peña reports on the work Dr. Chris Lineberry is doing to integrate health and wellness into our children’s curriculum.
All told, Social Venture Partners Arizona awarded more than $70,000 to these students for sharing big ideas that simultaneously solve problems and make our state a better place. It was heartening to see how fresh perspectives could disrupt traditional thinking in such positive ways.
We think summer is the perfect time to take a hard look at Arizona’s education challenges and ask how organizations can come together to contribute to a solution. In this way, when the new school year starts, we can make 2018-2019 the year of the student.
Karen Werner EDITOR
@kwerner409
JULY 2018 | FRONTDOORS MEDIA 5
