Academic Achievement
Innovative and Exemplary Programs
Arizona High School Renewal and Improvement Initiative
AZHSRI
Summary | AZHSRI State Team | Focus
Groups Executive Summary
The Full Focus Group Report | The
Appendices | History
Breaking Ranks II
Contact Information
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Overview
The Arizona Department of Education is pleased to announce that the Arizona High School Renewal and
Improvement Initiative (AZHSRI) is underway! To gather information about needs, opportunities, and
challenges of high school improvement in Arizona, a series of Regional Focus Groups were conducted
during the month of October, 2004.
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Upcoming Conferences
Recent Events
SLC/High School Renewal Networking Roundtable; a follow-up to the February, 2007
Small Learning Community Summit
On April 18, 2007, a group of interested teachers and administrators met to discuss the possibility and need for the development of an Arizona Small Learning Community/High School Renewal Network. This roundtable discussion was conducted as a follow-up response to the successful Small Learning Community Summit which was held in Phoenix in February, 2007. The objective of this roundtable was to begin the discussion about what, if anything, is needed by the field to support high school renewal at the grassroots level (i.e. those working closest to the students – teachers, assistant principals, principals, counselors, etc.).
To find out more about the results of this meeting follow the link below, and/or to find out how you might be able to participate in future events, contact Mary Martha Gingerella, mmginger@mpsaz.org or robert.coccagna@azed.gov.
SLC/High School Renewal Networking Roundtable Notes
AZHSRI Regional Focus Groups:
On October 14-19, 2004, the Arizona Department of Education
(ADE) conducted with WestEd1
an independent, participatory statewide needs assessment
in order to better define the AZHSRI agenda. The
needs assessment took place through background research
and a series of four Regional Focus Groups.
The purpose of the Regional Focus Groups was to clarify
the unique Arizona context for high school renewal.
ADE invited a diverse set of approximately thirty stakeholders
to the table in each of four communities across the state
(Yuma, Tucson, Flagstaff, and Phoenix) to take part in the
Focus Groups. Participants were asked to share perspectives
on their needs and expectations related to Arizona’s high
schools and high school improvement.
ADE and WestEd contracted with West Wind Enterprises2
to help design, conduct, and report on the Regional Focus
Groups. The report written after the Focus Groups detailed
the following:
- Needs articulated in the Focus Groups;
- Ideas for renewal activities that might work in Arizona’s
schools and communities; and
- Areas where groundwork must be done before actions will
take hold.
1WestEd
is a nonprofit research, development, and service agency,
which operates, among numerous other programs, the federal
Regional Educational Laboratory that serves the state of
Arizona.
www.wested.org
2West Wind Enterprises
is a small consulting company offering professional development
and research support for state education leaders engaged
in strategic planning, policy development, and stakeholder
engagement.
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Focus Group Partners:
ADE and WestEd are pleased that Arizona’s various statewide
associations of education leaders partnered on the Regional
Focus Groups. Focus Group partners provided advice and support
in the planning of the Focus Group sessions, as well as
assistance in selecting potential Focus Group Participants.
Partners in the Focus Group effort included:
- Arizona Association of Student Councils
- Arizona Business and Education Coalition
- Arizona Charter Schools Association
- Arizona Education Association
- Arizona Federation of Teachers
- Arizona Minority Education Policy Analysis Center
- Arizona School Administrators
- Arizona School Board Association
- Center for the Future of Arizona
- Greater Phoenix Leadership - Education Initiative
- Rodel Charitable Foundation of Arizona
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How AZHSRI Came About:
October 2003: Arizona sent a team of education leaders
to the U.S. Department of Education’s High School Leadership
Summit in Washington, DC.
April 2004: The U.S. Department of Education convened
a Regional Summit on high school reform in Phoenix, issuing
a call to states in our region to address challenges and
opportunities facing our high school students and schools.
The Arizona State Team on high school reform met for the
first time at this Summit.
July 2004: The State Team met to create a proactive
effort to improve high school student outcomes. At this
meeting, the State Team began discussing plans for the Arizona
High School Renewal and Improvement Initiative (ASHSRI).
August 2004: The Arizona Department of Education
received support from both the U.S. Department of Education
and WestEd to convene a series of Regional Focus Groups
in four locations across the states to conduct a needs assessment
of key stakeholders in high school reform.
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AZHSRI Activities, Phase One:
Phase One: The development of a statewide
vision and action plan for high school renewal and improvement
in order to raise academic achievement, increase the number
of high school graduates, and increase post-secondary attendance
and completion. The action plan included steps that we took
to foster the initiative.
- October 2004: Regional Focus Groups
- November 2004: Release of the Focus Group Report
- November/December 2004: State Team Meeting
- December 2004-February 2005: Ongoing related activities*
- February 2005: State Team Meeting
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AZHSRI Activities, Phase Two:
Phase Two: Implementation of the statewide
action plan for high school renewal and improvement!
Spring/Summer 2005: AZHSRI Statewide Summit
Next Steps: To be determined!!
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* Related Activities:
- Fall 2004/Winter 2005: The Arizona Business and Education
Coalition (ABEC) will be conducting a series of public
engagement forums around the state in the fall of 2004
and winter of 2005, in order to gather additional data
and build public support for high school renewal.
- February 2005: The Arizona School Administrators received
a Breaking Ranks II (BRII) grant from the National Association
of Secondary School Principals and convened a BRII Conference
on February 1, 2005.
- March 2005: The Arizona Department of Education, in
partnership with the Center for the Future of Arizona
and the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network, will
host a national dropout prevention conference. This is
an opportunity for educators to expand their knowledge
of issues and program strategies to increase high school
graduation rates.
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Resources
Contact Information
Academic Achievement Division
Arizona Department of Education
1535 West Jefferson Street, Bin 32
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Tel: (602) 542-4391
Fax: (602) 542-3100
Deputy Associate Superintendent: Maxine Daly
Email: mdaly@ade.az.gov
This page was last updated on
Tuesday, October 13, 2009.
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