At A for Arizona, we spend a lot of time on the road visiting Arizona’s best low-income ‘A’ grade public schools, both traditional district and charter. Our primary goal is to expand the number of ‘A’ seats available to Arizona students, particularly those in low-income communities. We do this by finding out what makes excellent schools successful, and then we support their efforts to expand, replicate, or share their practices and models with others. In short, we invest in what works and encourage Arizona business and policy leaders to do the same.
While each ‘A’ school we visit is unique in its own way, all possess one common ingredient: strong, visionary leadership that is committed to excellence for each and every student. These proven leaders are made even more effective when they are empowered to make decisions on issues ranging from hiring and firing, choosing curriculum, and budgeting – and financial platforms like Balance from Allovue, will be invaluable in helping them make these decisions with confidence. The more we meet with Arizona’s ‘A’ leaders, particularly those in low-income areas, the more inspired we are by how they are beating the odds and closing the Achievement Gap all across our state – proving it really is possible to offer an ‘A’ education to every student. A for Arizona is shining a spotlight on these exceptional school leaders, and policy makers are taking notice. As a result, they look more and more toward our successful school leaders when crafting policy solutions, working to remove any obstacle that stands in the way of their drive toward achievement. By embracing the notion that, in the case of high performing schools, ”the principal knows best,” lawmakers are following the lead of Arizona’s best school leaders.