LAUNCH Flagstaff update for May 31 — Initial Investment for Preschool Expansion Secured

Initial Investment for Preschool Expansion Secured

This month the City of Flagstaff pledged an initial investment in the Flagstaff preschool expansion three-year pilot project, as part of their budget allocation for fiscal year 2020.

City Council allocated $70,000 toward the first year of implementation for the project.  This investment was matched by the Coconino County Board of Supervisors which allocated $35,000 for this current fiscal year and another $35,000 for fiscal year 2020.

The Wharton Foundation followed suit and granted $150,000 over the three-year pilot.

“The Wharton Foundation Board was impressed by the significant investment from the City and County and the strength of the coalition that has been built under the umbrella of LAUNCH Flagstaff,” said Scott Pettitt, President of the Wharton Foundation.  “This bolstered our confidence in making this investment in high-quality early childhood education for Flagstaff.”

Executive Leadership Starts with Orientation

The Beat The Odds School Leadership Academy expanded to Northern Arizona beginning with an orientation session today for members of Flagstaff’s inaugural cohort.

During the event, community leaders discussed the importance of executive leadership development for educators as it relates to the advancement of world-class education and community vitality for Flagstaff and Northern Arizona.

LAUNCH Flagstaff partnered with the Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) and the National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) to bring the Beat The Odds School Leadership Academy to the community, which will provide executive leadership training to school leaders in the Flagstaff area.

KDI Pilot Implementation Outcomes

The LAUNCH Flagstaff Multi-LEA Collaborative is concluding its one year pilot of the Kindergarten Developmental Inventory (KDI) for the 2018-19 school year.  The goal of the collaborative team was twofold – (1) to determine the value of the KDI as both an assessment and a teaching tool to support effective teaching and learning, and (2) as a valid and reliable tool for evaluating success in a consistent manner across all schools in our community.  The collaborative team initially was comprised of the Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) and two Flagstaff charter schools – Mountain School and PEAK School.

The participating schools determined that while the KDI provided support for effective teaching and learning, it was a cumbersome and labor-intensive tool.

EOC – NACRC Partnership: Reaching More Students

Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) and Northern AZ College Resource Center (NACRC) recently made a formal agreement to partner with to serve more individuals to pursue a higher education. Both programs are sponsored by Northern AZ University and have similar goals to achieve. Most recently NACRC opened a new office in Prescott Valley. EOC also serves the area but had challenges securing a permanent office to serve students. You see for EOC “partnering” is key – because our program cannot afford to pay for rent. So we partner with community colleges, social service agencies, community organizations etc. to serve their students and community members in Northern AZ.

Now EOC will have a program coordinator working in their Prescott Valley office on a regular basis and EOC will share its vehicle to serve areas TOGETHER near the Prescott Valley area like Cottonwood, Clarkdale and Camp Verde to do events jointly.  In addition, the partnering will occur in Flagstaff to assist each other at FAFSA events. Partnering is key in reaching more students and to personally assist all students to reach their educational goals.

– Terri Beeson is the Program Coordinator for the Educational Opportunity Centers at NAU and CCC.  She can be reached at Terri.Beeson@nau.edu or 928.526.7602.