Instead of filling in Scan-tron bubbles, Arizona K-12 students are likely to be more hands-on with English language arts and math to prove they’re worthy of a high school diploma. The state’s education curriculum is going through a sea change in hopes of giving students the relevant skills and critical thinking abilities that will grab [...]
Parents of school age children typically have a lot of questions. From wondering how to help their incoming kindergartener navigate the first few weeks of school to preventing an older child from using drugs or alcohol, parents often feel like they could use some guidance. Amanda Hamm, prevention manager for the Kyrene School District, is [...]
Kyrene teachers are one step closer to receiving a much anticipated pay raise this year, thanks to the district Governing Board’s agreement to strike a salary freeze off the list of budget balancing strategies. The decision is in keeping with “Blueprint for Kyrene,” the district’s current strategic plan that is based heavily on community input. [...]
Lisa Wonter remembers walking through the doors of Kyrene de la Mirada every day as she navigated her way through elementary school. Every morning promised a new discovery. Little did she know that, years later, she would once again be walking through those same doors, only now as a student teacher, and that each day [...]
Thew Elementary School librarian Jean Mills, center, is presented with two of the 250 books donated for the school’s library. The campaign was sponsored by Tempe Republican Woman as the group’s community project. Taking part in the presentation were, from left, club president Darryl Jacobsen Barnes; Mills; and project coordinator Laura Reisinger.
Few words pique a crowd’s interest like money, which is why a discussion on teachers’ compensation sounded interesting. However, what at first seemed promising during a Kyrene School Board meeting ended much differently, with teachers disconcerted to hear that an existing freeze on salaries likely will continue. Their predictable despair is compounded by a complex [...]
Recent headlines of school shootings, violence and suicides express the concern the nation has in regard to the mental health of its youth. Childhood exposure to severe bullying, in particular, often is cited as the cause of serious long-term effects that ultimately can lead to anxiety, depression and suicide in adults. No one is less [...]
Consensus or even positive bargaining seem to elude most of our elected officials. In the Kyrene School District, though, a group of determined volunteers apparently have succeeded in coming together with a unanimous decision. The district’s Elementary Special Area Study Team used a technique, known widely as interest-based problem solving, to review scheduling options for [...]
School security took center stage during a study session of the Kyrene School Board on Jan. 22, along with the announcement of a new safety committee to assess the best security practices for the district. The committee membership includes technology experts, communications and security staff, and Beth Brizel, the current Kyrene board president. The results [...]
The shooting tragedy in Newtown, Conn., left school districts shaken to the core, but motivated to review and tighten security measures—and to reassure anxious parents. Following the trend of school districts across the nation, at the first board meeting of 2013, the Kyrene School District reported that its administrators also enhanced policies and adopted new [...]
