Town Hall covers reforms to retain high-quality teachers

Arizona Town Hall will present a community program in El Mirage at 7:30 a.m. Sept. 11 to discuss the Town Hall's recommendation for a fundamental redesign of Arizona's education system to recruit and retain more high-quality teachers. 

The interactive program will seek public input on how best to implement the changes needed to be competitive in a global marketplace.

The hour-long program will be at Pueblo El Mirage Golf Resort, Banquet Hall, 11201 N. El Mirage Road. El Mirage is sponsoring a continental breakfast at no cost to participants.

Scott Chesney, economic development director for El Mirage, will host the program, which will present major recommendations that came from Arizona Town Hall's April meeting of statewide community leaders. 

Presenters are Pamela Meyerhoffer, executive vice president, Sun Health, CEO, Sun Health Foundation; Karen Ortiz, vice president and director of early childhood education, Helios Education Foundation; Spencer Isom, assistant city manager for El Mirage; and Tara Jackson, president, Arizona Town Hall. 

The public will have the opportunity to discuss implementation approaches. To attend, reserve a seat by calling the Arizona Town Hall at 602-252-9600.

A cross-section of statewide leaders met in Prescott in April for the 92nd Arizona Town Hall, titled "Who Will Teach Our Children?"  The Town Hall called for a consortium of education advocates to help secure needed funding to implement reform measures. Participants recommended that the state Board of Education implement systemic reform in Arizona's education system, including providing teachers with professional pay levels and consistent professional development opportunities throughout the state.

The University of Arizona College of Education, under the leadership of Dean of Education Ron Marx and Professor Walter Doyle, prepared a detailed background report to prepare participants for substantive discussions and consensus-based policy recommendations. The report is available for download from www.aztownhall.org.

For more than 46 years, Arizona Town Hall has served as a "think tank" of Arizona leaders. Arizona Town Hall reports serve as a  resource for policymakers because the recommendations do not represent the agenda of a particular group or political perspective. Instead, the reports contain the informed consensus of Arizonans from different political parties, professions and geographic areas of the state.

For information about the Arizona Town Hall, visit www.aztownhall.org or call 602-252-9600.