M C ES A

w a s

award-

ed a

$ 5 7 . 8

m i l l i o n

Teacher Incentive Fund

Grant, from the US De-

partment of Education, to

help improve pay struc-

tures, reward excellent

teachers and principals

and provide greater pro-

fessional opportunities to

teachers. The grant will

f u n d M C E S A ’ s

“Rewarding Excellence in

Instruction & Leadership –

The Next Genera-

tion” (REIL-TNG) program

to advance a human capi-

tal management system

(HCMS) centered around

a performance-based

evaluation system, signifi-

cantly linking educator

effectiveness to student

outcomes.

“The initiative’s human

capital management

system will help partner

school districts attract,

place, retain, and sustain

effective educators in

some of the highest need

schools,” said Dr. Don

Covey, Maricopa County

Superintendent of Schools.

“Each district has commit-

ted to using the same

cross-district educator

evaluation system that

includes student aca-

demic progress measures,

classroom observations

with feedback sessions,

and targeted professional

development.”

MCESA’s

REIL-TNG

program

partners

i n c l u d e

s e v e n

Maricopa County School

Districts: Arizona Depart-

ment of Juvenile Correc-

tions; Balsz Elementary

School District; Maricopa

County Regional School

District; Mobile Elemen-

tary School District; Phoe-

nix Elementary School

District; Roosevelt School

District; and Wilson Ele-

mentary School District.

Your Communication Connection to Maricopa County Education Service Agency

Issue 2 | January 2013

School districts interested in benefiting from the REIL educator evaluation system and tar-

geted professional development, are invited to participate in REIL Extend. REIL Extend

offers school districts the teacher, leader and instructional coach observation instruments,

teacher, leader, and instructional coach professional learning opportunities, and an online

learning and data management tool. For more information about this opportunity, down-

load the REIL Extend brochure, or visit www.maricopa.gov/schools

www.maricopa.gov/schools

Congratulations to Dr. Jeff Smith, Superintendent at Balsz Elementary School District.

Dr. Smith was honored with the Arizona School Administrators (ASA) All Arizona

Superintendent Award. ASA looks at: relations with the Board, public, and

community; long-range planning; leadership in curriculum and instruction; manage-

ment of finances, personnel, student activities, and physical facilities; and overall

professional qualities when selecting the recipient.

This past November, 85 School

Governing Board members were

elected for the 58 school districts

in Maricopa County. Dr. Don

Covey, Mar icopa County

Superintendent of Schools offici-

ated the oath of office ceremony

for 46 governing board members

on Tuesday, December 4, at

MCESA. School Governing

Boards are an important part of

their communities, making deci-

sions that affect schools, leaders,

teachers, students, and their par-

ents. As advocates for the stu-

dents, they set the direction for

the district, establish the structure

to ensure all students are served,

provide support and, ensure ac-

countability.

Unfortunately, many districts did

not have enough candidates for

the vacant seats and fourteen

school board vacancies remain.

Those vacancies will be filled by

Dr. Covey through a collabora-

tive appointment process.

Find out more about running for

the school board at http://

www.maricopa.gov/Schools/

category-home.aspx?cid=4

The Arizona

Experience’s

T e a c h e r s ’

Center is en-

c o u r a g i n g

A r i z o n a

teachers to participate in the

“Imagine Arizona” lesson plan con-

test. The Arizona Experience offers

a broad range of informative and

interactive material about Arizo-

na’s past, present, and future for

lesson planning and instructional

delivery, as well as supporting

teachers implementing common

core standards into the classroom.

Digital media technology also

helps prepare students to enter the

twenty-first century workforce.

Teachers are eligible to partici-

pate in the lesson planning using

content from the Arizona Experi-

ence website to earn a share of

$25,000 in prizes.

To compete, teachers need to

incorporate material that meets

state education standards into an

original 3-7 day lesson plan unit

and implement it in the classroom.

Teachers then send in a one-page

description of the subject, content

and how Arizona Experience

material was incorporated.

Any full-time teacher in grades

4—12 from an accredited Arizona

school is eligible to participate in

the contest. Lesson plans can be

about any subject approved by

the Arizona Board of Education.

The deadline has been extended

to May 10, 2013.

For more information on the

c o n t e s t , v i s i t

www.arizonaexperience.org.

As Arizona school districts face the implementation of Common Core Standards, they also need to think about ways

to share what is happening with their community to garner support. Expect More Arizona can help districts with com-

munication needs regarding Common Core Standards.

Pearl Chang Esau, President and CEO of Expect More Arizona recently published the article Building Public Will to

Support Common Core. Read this article at http://bit.ly/UhMDW3 and find resources to assist with spreading the

word about the Common Core Standards within your community.

Learn more about Expect More Arizona’s initiatives on Facebook and Twitter

As schools and districts prepare

for the implementation of the new

state assessment system coming in

the 2014-2015 school year,

many questions are being asked

about technology readiness.

On December 21, PARCC pub-

lished technology guidelines com-

municating technical infor-

mation, and providing planning

and implementation guidance in

coordination with the existing ef-

forts around the PARCC and

Smarter Balanced Technology

Readiness Tool.

Most current operating systems,

laptops, desktops, netbooks, and

tablets will be compatible with

PARCC. For a list of requirements,

visit http://www.parcconline.org/

technology

PARCC has approved reference

sheets, which include the needed

f o rmu la s and r e f e ren ce

information math students can use

during testing. PARCC has also

approved a calculator policy

regarding when students can use

a calculator during assessment.

More information about these

policies and others can be found

at: www.parcconline.org/parcc-

assessment-policies.

Annual AZ State Gifted Conference

The Arizona Association for Gifted and talented (AAGT) is hosting their 39th Annual

State Gifted Education Conference “Gifted Matter in the 21st Century” February 7 &

8, 2013 at the Black Canyon Conference Center. Register now! http://

www.arizonagifted.org/conference

Maricopa County Parks & Recreation has a Fall Program Guide available highlighting the valuable education pro-

grams for the community. Check it out today: http://1.usa.gov/Uz0oAE

Maricopa County Public Health has information available regarding Childhood Immunizations. See what’s new:

http://1.usa.gov/Uz0oAE

Maricopa County Environmental Services Department provides free presentations to school and community groups

on the effect of water pollution. Please visit www.maricopa.gov/stormwater for more information.

Six principals in Maricopa County were named Rodel Exemplary Principals. Congratulations goes out to Laura

Couret of Quentin Elementary, Dr. Chad Gestson of Camelback High, Michael T. Henderson of Galveston Elemen-

tary, Valerie Lopez Miranda of Los Amigos Elementary, Elizabeth Mullavey of Sousa Elementary, and Patricia

Scarpa of Desert Star Elementary.

Congratulations to Tolleson High School for receiving a $10k Grant for to fund a SFAz STEM club. The investment is

targeted to increase participation of at-risk students and encourage them to consider a future in STEM.

Mesa Public Schools Nancy Lindblom was chosen as Arizona’s Teacher of the Year. She will go on to represent

Arizona for the national title. Congratulations and good luck!

Congratulations to Michelle Perryman of Paradise Valley Unified School District. She was named a 2013 Rodel

Exemplary Teacher. She calls her school, Larkspur Elementary, “a community of learners who pride themselves on all

students achieving goals.”

Tolleson Elementary School District Governing Board wins the Lou Ella Kleinz Award of Excellence. The award goes

to governing boards that demonstrate a clear focus on students, increased parental involvement, and fosters collabo-

ration with social agencies, the community and innovation.

West-MEC just received the Image Award from the Association for Career and Technical Education. The Image

Award goes to a district that demonstrates extraordinary contributions to the image of career and technical

education. Way to go West-MEC!

Roosevelt School District has built a Child Nutrition Warehouse and Education Center. The multipurpose facility

designed to not only serve as the hub for the District’s Child Nutrition Department but also serve as an instructional

resource to enhance and support Wellness and Nutrition Education within the Roosevelt School District.

Maricopa County is home to approximately 63 percent of school-age children in the state of Arizona. Under the direction of

County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Don Covey, the Maricopa County Education Service Agency and its staff of expert practi-

tioners and service-oriented professionals are dedicated to ensuring that the more than 700,000 school-age children in the

county graduate college- and career-ready.

Our mission is to design and support innovation and excellence in educational services throughout Maricopa County by building

alliances with school districts, education and social service organizations, the business community and others. In doing so, MCESA

provides leadership, services and programs in three overarching service areas that are critical to student success and reflective

of the agency's goals: Educational Innovation, Economic Management, and Executive Leadership.

4041 N. Central Avenue, Ste. 1200

Phoenix, AZ 85012

(602) 506-3866

www.maricopa.gov/schools