Elections Division Busy with School District Ballots Support Services Assists School Districts AZ Common Core Standards

Resources Regional Center Up and Running ADE Updates Reading for the Stars County Info MCESA Info

Election season is upon us. As such, MCESAs Elections Services team is busy providing election services for the school districts in Maricopa County. The Elections team administers school district governing board elections and recalls, special elections for district bonds and overrides, and coordinates governing board appointments in compliance with Arizona Revised Statutes. The team also provides information on the

elections to school districts, par- and Certificates of Election will ents and the community. be sent by the BOS to the 66 appointees in the upcoming This year, 177 board positions weeks. The rest of the candiwere open for election. Of dates are on the ballot for the those open seats, the Maricopa November election. Dr. Don County Board of Supervisors Covey, Maricopa County Su(BOS) made 66 appointments perintendent of Schools will to school district governing conduct a swearing-in ceremoboards because the candidates ny on December 4th for newly were running unopposed. The elected and appointed board BOS also declared 14 vacanmembers. cies due to lack of candidates for the seats. Oaths of Office

Maricopa County Education Service Agency (MCESA) Economic Management area provides resources and support to school districts. Areas of focus include increasing the accuracy of each school districts tax rate, cash management and annual budget, as well as reducing audit exceptions. The Economic Management area provides service and support with budgeting, general accounting and consulting, and visions.

preparation and revision of budgets; preparation of Annual Fiscal Report; generates budget status reports; makes recommendations regarding budgets. Accounting Support & Consultation MCESA offers consultation on a variety of issues: tax rates; work with auditors during annual fiscal audit; provide preaudit service/USFR compliance audit.

for correct coding and adequate budget capacity; recommend correcting journal entries for miscoded items; validate and verify ADE reports. Contact Talise Berry at 602-506-3958. Vision Support The MCESA team can also help you with: fixed assets support; procurement; reconciliation; payroll; and training. Contact Ken Martinez at 602-5062872.

For other assistance, contact Marc Kuffner, at 602-506Budget The team is available for gen- 2068. MCESA assists districts with eral accounting support. They many budget issues such as: can review requisitions, check

Be sure to vote on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012. 30 school districts have bond and/or override questions on the ballot. To see which districts and get more information, visit our elections web page.

MCESA is part of the Arizona Public Engagement Task Force, a collaboration of more than 30 partners statewide, sponsored by Expect More AZ. The Task Force builds public awareness and engagement regarding issues impacting education, starting with Common Core. The Task Force launched ArizonaCommonCore.org, a website for Arizona educators, families, and others to find out all information regarding Arizonas Common Core Standards. Targeted grades started the implementation of Common Core this year. Next year, all grades are expected to implement the Standards. The Standards will help ensure students have the knowledge to be successful in college, career and life. Share the website with your districts families and partners so they can learn more about Arizonas Common Core Standards so they can help to support our students and schools.

Maricopa County Education Service Agency (MCESA) had quite a busy summer and early fall as it kicked of professional development workshops in the Regional Center. As one of five Regional Centers in the State, MCESA provides regionally-based service and support to school districts and charter schools to successfully implement Arizonas education plan, Arizona Ready.

Common Core Standards has been a major focus. Workshops officially kicked off in July and more than 500 teachers and administrators have attended workshops in the Regional Center. The opportunities continue: view MCESAs Registration website. For resources and more information on Arizonas Common Core Standards, visit: www.azed.gov/azcommoncore

The Center provides technical assistance to LEAs; professional development for teachers and leaders; and supports the development and dissemination of high-quality instructional resources. Implementation of Arizonas

Student-Teacher-Course-Connection: The Student-Teacher-Course Connection program creates visibility and transparency into the educational progress of students and the people who inspire them. The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is helping districts and charters to successfully complete this program by December 2012 to meet federally-mandated data requirements. However, the first step to a quality student-teacher-course connection begins with a common set of course definitions. Then, all school district and charter schools must match their courses with a common statewide framework. There are two ways to get started: an online tool provided by ADE (CourseWalk) or through your districts Student Information System (SIS). Get started here: Student-Teacher-Course Connection. For more information, call 602-542-7378.

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Children who experience a pattern of academic failure in grades four through six show an increased risk of developing future behavioral and academic problems. MCESAs Reading for the Stars is a research-based initiative empowering 4th - 6th grade students with the competence and confidence to succeed. Goal setting and focus on reading achievement are the initiatives focus. A critical element of the program is connecting caring adult mentors with students who show signs of reading difficulty or who exhibit behaviors that may otherwise inhibit their educational success. The mentor:

promotes the value of education and literacy while celebrating the students success. assists in meeting and tracking goals in reading, citizenship and success in four destination points. is a positive, caring adult, willing to listen.

Mentors and students meet for 30 minutes each week or 60 minutes every other week at the students school. Partner schools are located throughout the valley. Find out how you can help make a difference in the life of a student. Contact Shelley Carr or call (602) 372-3668 for information about being a volunteer mentor.

Maricopa County Parks & Recreation provides valuable education programs for the community. Encourage your families to take a guided hike to look at petroglyphs or native wildlife, or to attend a Brown-Bag It talk with a ranger. With 30+ programs, the opportunities to learn are endless. Maricopa County Human Services Department has many resources for families to help their children, whether it is back to school assistance, clothing and food resources, discount programs, and head start. Maricopa County Public Health is a great resources and provider of information about immunizations for children. They also have a program called Safe Routes to School, focusing on the safety of children going to and from school. Maricopa County Environmental Services Stormwater Quality Program, Maricopa County Library District and REI are sponsoring a poster contest for 3rd6th graders. Students are encouraged to visit the Environmental Services website to learn more about stormwater pollution and for ideas to create and submit posters supporting the theme: Clean Water, I Can Help. Contest Rules.
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 practitioners 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. Maricopa County Education Service Agency 4041 N. Central Avenue, Ste. 1200 Phoenix, AZ 85012 (602) 506-3866 www.maricopa.gov/schools