Arizona Public Schools Making A Difference Every Day Campaign Begins Second Year of Sharing Great News from Arizona’s Public Schools

Campaign Seeks Inspiring Stories Featuring Students, Teachers, Staff and Administrators Making a Difference!

PHOENIX—Aug. 26, 2008 – It’s time to spread the word! During the 2007-08 school year, the Arizona Public Schools Making a Difference Every Day campaign proved there was an abundance of good news originating from public schools statewide. Family, friends, teachers, students and administrators shared inspiring and informative stories at the campaign’s website, www.azschoolsmakeadifference.org. Stories were also featured in a weekly email newsletter. 

Recent research shows that parents are starting to hear the good stories about public education. In the 2008 A+ Parent Satisfaction Survey, a yearly tracking survey for the Arizona State Board of Education performed by researchers at Arizona State University, findings showed a marked increase in parental perception of public schools. 

Now it’s time to do it again!  The entire educational community is encouraged to share public education success stories throughout the school year via email at info@azschoolsmakeadifference.org; or through a form on the campaign website at www.azschoolsmakeadifference.org/tellstory.asp. 

 “We want to encourage everyone to shine the spotlight on innovative teachers, cutting-edge programs and the accomplishments of our students statewide,” explained Panfilo Contreras, executive director of the Arizona School Boards Association and one of the driving forces behind the campaign. “There is a lot going right in public school classrooms across Arizona, and we’re determined to share those stories!”

To inspire submissions for 2008-09, here is a sampling of some of last year’s great stories:  

• In Page, fifth-graders used a video blog created by their teacher to keep up with a challenging mathematics curriculum.
• In Kingman, middle school students learned arts standards while making gifts for children temporarily living in a shelter for victims of abuse.
• In Phoenix, a science teacher successfully engaged fourth-grade science students with an unorthodox “gross is good” approach incorporating all five of their senses.
• In Tucson, children seeking an outdoor field trip simply traveled outside of the school gate to a neighboring 21/2 acre natural desert garden.
• In Casa Grande, peer pressure had a POSITIVE impact thanks to a hand-picked group of 14 eighth grade students who encouraged younger classmates to make wise choices regarding drug, alcohol and tobacco use.

 
Ask your friends and colleagues to log onto www.azschoolsmakeadifference.org and sign up as a supporter. They will be one of the first to hear about good things happening in public education around the state. The more supporters we have, the more impact is possible!

We are looking for impressive stories about how Arizona’s teachers, students and schools are making a difference every day. Log onto www.azschoolsmakeadifference.org and submit your stories.