Tea Party Challenged on Education Ideas

I don’t know how else to say it. Arizona is failing its students.

• 65% of children in Arizona are not proficient in math by the 4th grade
• 71% of children in Arizona cannot read at grade level by the 4th grade
• 1/3 of our kids are dropping out of school every year, giving Arizona the 2nd highest dropout rate in the nation.

Our political leaders are clearly taking us in the wrong direction, and since I ran for Superintendent of Public Instruction four years ago, lawmakers have managed to make things worse. In recent days, we’ve witnessed some of the largest cuts to public education in the history of the state of Arizona. We now rank 51st in per pupil funding, putting Arizona behind all the states and the District of Columbia. Those in charge of education at the state capitol clearly have the wrong priorities.

You can help make public education Arizona’s top priority. Please consider giving a $5 clean elections qualifying contribution to my campaign today.

As you may have heard recently, I’ve started to take the fight directly to conservative voters and to my likely Republican opponent, should I have the privilege of being the Democratic nominee once again, because I believe we need to challenge them on their turf if things are going to change. I stepped into the “lion’s den” last week when I attended the Scottsdale Tea Party meeting, where I challenged those in attendance on the misinformation they’ve been fed from Republican politicians.

That’s what we’ve got to do if we are not only going to change the conversation, but change the direction in which our state is headed. It’s critical we build a broad, diverse coalition so we can support our kids by ensuring every child in Arizona has access to a quality public education.

Let’s do this together for our children. Please give $5 today so we can change direction and move Arizona forward by moving ALL our children forward!

Thank you for supporting my campaign. Your clean elections qualifying contribution helps me reach voters across the state to confront the misinformation they’ve been hearing so we can put our kids first once again.

Please give $5 today and help us take our message to the people. Visit my website at http://www.williamsforarizona.com to download and return the clean elections qualifying contribution form with your $5 to the address at the bottom of the form.

Give $5 today

The Arizona Legislature is at it again, proposing to balance the state budget on the backs of kids once more.  Their special session bills include more cuts to education, which makes today’s day of action even more critical.

Education must be the top priority in Arizona, and it will be when we elect new leadership in November. 

Please join me for Putting Kids First: Day of Action for Jason Williams.  To qualify for clean elections funding, I need your help to collect $5 clean elections qualifying contributions from registered voters in Arizona.

Tonight, I’m joining my campaign team in calling voters to ask for their support.  We ask that you join us by hosting your own virtual house party -- give $5 and, between now and March 20th, find 2 more people to give $5.  Please ask your friends, family and neighbors to support my campaign.  All you have to do is call, email or ask in person for a $5 contribution.

Download your Clean Elections Contribution form here: http://www.williamsforarizona.com/docs/5_Qualifying_Contribution_Form.pdf

Between now and March 20th, return the completed form with your $5 to:

Committee to Elect Jason Williams 2010
P.O. Box 33395, Phoenix, AZ 85067-3395

Thank you for your support.

March4Schools: Take Action and Post Your Thoughts

Tonight I will be showing my support for public education in my local community by attending the annual Roosevelt School District Legislative Forum, which brings together educators, parents and community members to talk with their legislators about the direction our state leaders are taking education. Be sure to show your support today for public education by participating in the March4Schools Day of Action. I encourage you to attend an event in your local community, too! To find an event near you, please visit: http://www.arizonaea.org/politics.php?page=506.

Please share your thoughts about the importance of providing every child in Arizona access to a quality public education. You can post your response on my facebook fanpage discussion board: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=75799625919&topic=13072

Putting Kids First: A Platform for Improving Educational Outcomes in Arizona

We released the following press statement today announcing the release of my campaign platform:

State Superintendent candidate Jason Williams releases campaign platform
Plan emphasizes ‘kids first’ approach to improve educational outcomes

Phoenix, Ariz. – Jason Williams, one of the leading candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction, released his campaign platform today outlining his plan for improving educational outcomes in Arizona. In the platform, which can be accessed online at www.WilliamsForArizona.com/platform, Williams emphasizes all actions of the Department of Education will be fair, innovative and accountable to ensure the best possible outcomes for Arizona’s students.

“Putting kids first is central to my campaign,” said Williams. “As Superintendent of Public Instruction, my responsibility, and the focus that will always be central in everything I do, will be to ensure every student in this state has access to an excellent public school, through which they will have the opportunity to pursue greater life prospects and reach their full potential.”

Among the priorities outlined in his platform, Williams’ plan includes:

• Redesigning the state assessment system as a first priority by bringing stakeholders together to develop a system based on multiple indicators of student achievement, while raising the bar on the level of difficulty for state assessments
• Developing incentive plans to attract highly effective teachers to high-needs schools
• Ensuring school principals are “true instructional leaders,” empowering them to build their teams while charging them with providing teachers the necessary support to lead their teams to excellence
• Rewarding teacher success with a more robust performance-based compensation system tied to the new state accountability system, using multiple indicators of student achievement and professional growth
• Assembling a nonprofit council to bring resources into schools, particularly under-resourced schools
• Providing local support to schools and districts, including assistance with identifying and applying for federal and private grants so no money is left on the table
• Reinforcing accountability systems so they honestly assess where students in Arizona stand
• Implementing three “gateway years” - 3rd grade, 8th grade and 12th grade – at which point students who are not performing will not be promoted to the next grade. This system will incorporate appropriate interventions to help underperforming students meet proficiency before each gateway year
  

“The challenges facing our public schools will not be solved overnight, but they can be solved,” said Williams. “Innovative programs and policies are necessary to adapt to our changing environment. Too often in our schools today, the word ‘accountability’ is just a catchphrase. Because educational outcomes are so aligned with our state’s economic strength, we must have real accountability in our schools. Arizonans can be assured all programs and policies will be fair, innovative, and accountable. Together, we can make Arizona’s public schools excellent and ensure all of our students have the opportunity to reach their potential.”

To read the full platform, visit www.WilliamsForArizona.com/platform.