Presented by

Arizona School Boards Association and

Stand for Children Arizona

Dear Education Champion,

First of all, thank you for your commitment to the children of Arizona and our public

education system. We are grateful for your leadership!

Both Stand for Children Arizona and the Arizona School Boards Association believe a high

quality public education system that provides all students the opportunity for success is

critical to our state and country’s health and prosperity.

Arizona is currently going through a time of transition to make sure we are providing

students with the opportunities they deserve. We are raising the expectations for our

students and schools through adopting new academic standards. We cannot just raise

expectations for students, though. We must hold ourselves to higher expectations as well.

That means that we all have a role to play in helping the state transition to these new

standards.

In this toolkit, you will find documents you can share with your community, ideas for

events to host, and key messages to help you as you talk about Arizona’s new standards.

We hope these resources will be useful to you. Both of our organizations are committed to

supporting your efforts; if there are resources that are missing, please let us know.

Thank you again for your leadership in your community and your commitment to public

education in Arizona.

With gratitude,

John Fisher Timothy L. Ogle, Ph.D

Executive Director Executive Director

Stand for Children Arizona Arizona School Boards Association

1. Key Messages about Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards

Presents the quick talking points for you on the new standards.

2. Overview of the Standards

An example of a one-pager you can use when talking about the new

standards with constituents or others in the community. Feel free to share

as is or adapt as needed.

3. Meeting Guide

Tool to help you plan a community meeting about the new standards. The

Power Point that can be used in these meetings is also linked on this

website.

4. Standards Night Template

Template for planning an event at a school to talk to parents about the new

standards.

5. Op Ed

Sample Op Ed for you to submit, which you can customize for your school

district and community as needed.

6. Myths and Facts Document

Can also be shared with constituents who have concerns about the new

standards.

7. FAQs About the New Standards

Answers to questions you might be hearing in the community.

8. Resource List

Additional websites you can use for more information.

Arizona is raising the bar to ensure that all students receive a world-class

education.

Across the state, we are implementing new academic standards in English language

arts and math in grades K-12, called Arizona’s College and Career Ready

Standards, that will ensure our students have the academic knowledge and skills

they need to be successful in college, career, and life.

The standards will not only improve what students learn, but how they learn by

teaching critical-thinking, problem solving, and effective communication skills.

Together with highly trained, well-supported teachers, the standards will better

prepare our students for success after high school graduation.

Academic standards are what we expect kids to know and be able to do at each

grade.

Arizona’s old academic standards were not preparing kids for college or career. We

had very low expectations.

In 2010, Arizona adopted a new set of standards to raise the bar for our students

and schools.

These new standards are based on the Common Core State Standards.

Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards are math and English/Language Arts

standards for Kindergarten through 12th grade.

These new standards are more rigorous, more focused, and clearer.

The standards were developed through a state-led process with education experts,

community leaders, and business leaders. There was extensive stakeholder input

as well as public comment.

They will help our students truly understand the material they are learning, and not

just try to memorize the answers.

These standards will set high expectations in 46 different states and DC, so it will

be consistent and fair across the country.

Arizona is in the process of transitioning to new academic standards, also known as

Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards (ACCRS) in all of its schools. Created by

teachers and education experts, the new ACCRS will ensure our kids have the skills they

need to compete in school and in their careers, not just in Arizona, but anywhere they

choose to work, live and attend school.

Standards are what students need to know and be able to do at every grade level. How

that information is delivered is via lesson plans and reading materials is decided by local

school systems and teachers.

The College and Career Ready Standards make it clear, for the first time, what all students

need to know and do to be truly ready for college and career. These standards were

created for English and Math by experts and teachers from 46 states, 2 US territories, and

the District of Columbia. These Standards will be aligned across every participating state

and school district. These standards are better than states’ current standards in three key

ways:

They are focused. Students will have the opportunity to go deep in their knowledge

of a particular subject and really focus on learning, rather than covering many

topics at a shallow level.

They are equitable. The standards are the same for all children regardless of

background or zip code because the standards have one goal – make students

work and college ready.

They are rigorous. Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards are benchmarked

against the highest performing countries in the world and built around what

students need to know after the 12th grade for work, training and college.

In the past, every state developed their own standards, which meant that there were 50

different standards determining what students should learn. Families and business had a

hard time assessing the quality of their state standards compared to everyone else.

Though each state decides if they want to adopt the new standards that are part of

Common Core State Standards Initiative, those who have chosen to do so will have

stronger standards than before. Because dozens of states are doing this at the same time,

it allows families to have more consistency in their child’s education regardless of where

they live and raises the bar for all Americans. Over time, states may modify the standards

because this effort is all voluntarily, but now families and businesses know we have a bar

that is relevant to today’s workplace. Because of the importance of quality education

systems to economic development, industries will be more comfortable locating in states

with rigorous academic standards.

Schools are currently transitioning to the new standards. In Arizona, schools will use the

new standards in the current school year, and new assessments will used in 2014-2015.

The class of 2023 will be the first class to have been taught the standards each year in

school.

First, these new standards are an improvement to Arizona’s prior standards. You will see

the type of work your child will be doing change, with more projects and discussions.

Students will have to explain the “why” behind what they are doing, not just the “how”.

These skills will help your child be a better student, and prepare them 21st century

workplace and world. Because your child will now be held to the same, high expectations

as students across the country, parents know that their child will have a legitimate

opportunity compete with other students and workers across America, and indeed, the

ever growing workforce from other countries.

Arizona will be transitioning to a new assessment (different from the current AIMS test) to

measure how well students are learning the new standards. The State Board of Education

is currently gathering information to make an informed decision about what assessment is

right for Arizona. The new tests being developed are being designed to be given online, so

more critical thinking can be tested, not just fill-in-the-bubble multiple choice. The new

test will be given in grades 3 – 8 and high school in 2014-2015.

Here is a sample meeting agenda with discussion questions for you to use in hosting a

meeting. We also recommend using the Power Point presentation that is also on this

website.

Welcome/Introduction (5 minutes)

o Leader of the meeting explains that this meeting will include information

and discussion on Arizona’s academic standards

o Leader should also emphasize why having strong schools and ready

graduates is important to the community at large

Introduction of Common Core State Standards Initiative – Video (5 minutes)

o Explain that Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards are Arizona’s

participation in the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

o Show the 3 minute video from the Council on Great City Schools:

http://www.cgcs.org/Page/380

Review Power Point (15 minutes)

o If the leader of the meeting would like to discuss the Power Point or practice

facilitating the presentation, Stand for Children is happy to help!

Discussion (30 minutes)

o The leader should facilitate a discussion about Arizona’s College and Career

Ready Standards, with a focus on what the community can do to support

schools in the transition.

o We recommend you keep a “parking lot” of questions you don’t know the

answer to; Stand for Children can help you answer those questions after the

meeting and you can respond to the attendees when doing follow up.

o You should consider inviting a principal or your superintendent to the

meeting to discuss what the local schools are doing to prepare for the

transition. Having a school leader there could also help focus the

conversation on how the community can be involved.

Wrap Up (5 minutes)

o Pass out the overview document from this toolkit and the Resource List so

people can continue to learn more and share that information with their

friends and neighbors.

o As a group, you can discuss next steps for how you will engage with your

local schools or how people will be supporting their children or the schools

individually.

o If there are a lot of remaining questions, offer to host another event and we

can work together to bring an expert to discuss the issues.

What do we expect our graduates to be able to do when they graduate from high

school? How are we preparing them for college and career?

How does the quality of the education system impact the community?

What role should community members without school aged children play in our

education system?

How can schools be more responsive to the community and vice versa?

Why are standards important for our schools? Should we have a role in setting

them?

Did our old standards meet the needs of our students in the 21st century economy?

What do you feel about the College and Career Ready Standards? Are we moving in

the right direction and teaching children the right skills?

Why is it important for people who aren’t educators to understand what the College

and Career Ready Standards are and how they are being implemented?

1. To inform parents about the new standards

2. To open the dialogue between administrators and parents in order to promote

accountability and collaboration between home and school during the transition

I. Welcome and Introductions (15 min) – School Board member or Administrator

a. Introductions

b. What are Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards? How are they

connected to the Common Core State Standards Initiative and why are they

important?

c. CCS Video (3 min)

II. Presentation on Implementation of New Standards (15 min) - Administrator

a. What we’ve already done, what we’re currently doing, what’s planned, etc.

b. Explanation about the changes coming with the assessment

c. What we expect from parents

III. Q & A Session (15 min) – Panel of Administrator and Teachers

a. Parents ask panel questions related to Arizona’s College and Career Ready

Standards

*Have parents fill out notecards during the presentation with questions and

collect them to prevent off-topic questions

IV. Closing (15 min) – School Board member or Administrator

a. Next Steps: What can you do?

b. Share resources

Planning:

Talk with other school board members and your superintendent to get their help

Ask principals for volunteers to host the event

Host meeting with principal, superintendent (or director of curriculum and

instruction), district public relations person, and a parent liaison or active parent

who can support turnout

Make sure principal feels comfortable talking about what has been done already

and what their plan is for standards implementation

Set goals for the event

Logistics:

Set date and time

Choose location and confirm (make sure it is on the school calendar)

Determine which resources you would like to make available at the event. Find

resources at get2core.org or from resource list in Champions Toolkit

Print out resources

Develop a few initial questions to start the discussion

Discuss if translation is needed. Choose a translator and secure translation

equipment

Decide if childcare is needed. Secure a childcare provider.

Decide if you’d like to provide refreshments. Make a budget and plan for

refrigeration needs.

Turnout:

Send flyer home with students

Ask for the event to be posted in the front office

If there is a weekly newsletter, ask for the event to be posted in it

Post on school or district website

Post on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Send announcement to Stand for Children to post on get2core.org

As a governing board member of [X] district, I firmly believe it is our responsibility to

provide the best education possible to all of our students. We have seen repeatedly over

time that when students are held to high expectations and given the right support, they

can achieve great things. We have also seen the world changing around us, particularly

with the new knowledge and innovation-based economy. Providing the best education

possible for our students means we have to prepare them for this new economy.

This school year in [X] School District, teachers are implementing a new set of academic

standards, known as the Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards. These standards

were designed to make sure that when a student graduates from high school he or she

has the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in college or the workplace. That means

that students need to be able to think critically, analyze problems, and develop solutions.

The new standards focus on these skills in addition to the knowledge that is necessary to

succeed in our world.

As a district, we have been in the process of transitioning to the new standards for over

three years. We have provided training to our teachers on these new standards, and we

have seen teachers bring a great amount of creativity to bear in redesigning their lesson

plans and planning new ways to teach the material to their students.

The transition is not complete, though. We still have one more school year before a new

state test will be used, and we know that teachers and students will continue to need

support to reach this higher bar. As a governing board member, I am committed to

supporting our district, its teachers, and students. But we need the entire community to

be supportive of this work.

There are so many ways the community can get involved. If you work at a business with a

great IT professional, see if he or she would be willing to help the district with their

technology plans. Teachers will always be looking for real world problems and examples

to use in the classroom; help teachers write case studies based on your business so

students can learn with a real, tangible example. Reading proficiency is critical to every

single student’s success, and reading out loud with an adult is a great way to support

reading skills. Spend an hour a week or a month reading with a student who is struggling.

Instead of reading the latest journal article or research report and filing it away, share it

with a teacher and explain it so the teacher can use it as tool for technical reading in the

classroom.

There are so many more ways the community can get engaged in our schools, and it is so

important that we do. The quality of our education system is tightly linked with our

economic prosperity and the health of our community. We are finally going to be

preparing all students for success after high school. That is a goal we should all be

behind.

Myth: The Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards are national standards.

Fact: The standards were developed through a state-led initiative spearheaded by

governors and state school chiefs. The federal government was not involved in the

development of the standards.

Myth: The standards are federally mandated.

Fact: The standards are not federally mandated. Arizona, along with 45 other states,

voluntarily adopted the standards.

Myth: The new standards shift control away from of education from local school boards to

the federal government.

Fact: Local school boards retain their same level of authority as they had prior to the

adoption of the standards.

Myth: Arizona is locked into the new standards and cannot make changes to them.

Fact: Arizona is committed to staying the course and supporting the implementation of

Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards. However, the State Board of Education

can make changes to academic standards at any time. Good standards shouldn’t change

too often, but over time should evolve based on what is learned from research, from

educators in the field, and from student assessments.

Myth: The new standards won’t prepare students for college and career.

Fact: The standards reflect the real-world expectations of what is necessary for students

to succeed in higher education and the workforce, including critical-thinking, problem

solving, and effective communication skills. To this end, the standards were developed

using evidence that includes scholarly research; surveys on what skills are required of

students entering college and workforce training programs; assessment data identifying

college and career-ready performance; and comparisons to standards from high-

performing states and nations, among other data. Together with highly trained, well-

supported teachers, the standards will better prepare Arizona students for college and

career.

Myth: Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards are not internationally benchmarked.

Fact: The standards draw from the best existing standards in the country and are

benchmarked to the top performing nations around the world, ensuring that our students

are well prepared to compete with their peers abroad for the jobs of the future.

Myth: Arizona’s old standards are better than the College and Career Ready Standards.

Fact: The standards have been well-received and are regarded by most commentators –

across the political spectrum – as an improvement on the state standards they replace.

For example, in a recent analysis, the Fordham Institute found that the new standards

are an improvement over the Arizona’s past standards and Arizona’s teachers are

responding positively to the standards.

Myth: The College and Career Ready Standards are a curriculum that tells teachers what

to teach.

Fact: The standards are not a curriculum. Rather, they are a set of goals that outline what

students should be able to know and do in each grade in English and math. Decisions

about how to teach the standards (e.g. curriculum, tools, materials and textbooks) are

left to local decision-makers who know their students best.

Myth: Implementing the new standards will not require any big changes in teaching or

learning.

Fact: The new standards will require new methods of teaching that lead students to

become critical thinkers and problem solvers with higher levels of subject mastery.

Arizona teachers will need additional training and time to adopt more innovative

instructional methods and deepen their content knowledge.

Myth: Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards do not have enough emphasis on

fiction and literature.

Fact: While there is a shift towards including informational text in the standards, literature

is included. The standards require certain critical content for all students, including:

classic myths and stories from around the world, America’s Founding Documents,

foundational American literature, and Shakespeare. Appropriately, the remaining crucial

decisions about what content should be taught are left to state and local determination. In

addition to content coverage, the standards require that students systematically acquire

knowledge in literature and other disciplines through reading, writing, speaking, and

listening.

Myth: The math standards do not address algebra until high school.

Fact: There is a great deal of algebra in the 8th grade standards and a strong focus on the

prerequisites for algebra in the elementary grades. If a student is ready to move on to

algebra in 8th grade or before, the decision will be made with the student’s parents,

teacher and school district, as has always been.

Myth: The new standards were developed quickly and with little public comment.

Fact: The standards were developed by a thoughtful and transparent process led by the

National Governors Association and Council for Chief State School Officers. The process

relied on teachers, experts from across the country (including Arizonans), and feedback

from key stakeholders and the general public. NGA and CCSSO received nearly 10,000

comments in response to the draft standards, which were incorporated into the standards.

Prior to adopting Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards, the State Board of

Education and the Department of Education conducted many public meetings and

adjusted the standards to meet Arizona’s needs.

Myth: Arizonans were not involved in the creation of the standards.

Fact: Experts from Arizona were involved in the development of the standards. Dr. William

McCallum, the University Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Head of the

Department of Mathematics at the University of Arizona, was one of the lead writers of

the math standards. Sarah Baird, the 2009 Arizona Teacher of the Year, served on the

Common Core State Standards Validation Committee. Arizona teachers, superintendents,

staff from the Arizona Department of Education, and others were also involved in reviewing

and providing input to the standards.

Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards are a set of academic standards in math and

English/Language Arts. These standards are the statement of what we expect students to know and

do in each grade level. They are designed to ensure all students graduate from high school college-

and career-ready.

In 2006, former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt convened a meeting of governors and business

leaders to discuss how to raise educational standards to ensure a more competitive prepared

workforce. Led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School

Officers, groups of experts, including experts from Arizona, worked together to develop the

Common Core State Standards. The draft standards were then available for extensive public

comment before they were finalized. In 2010, the Arizona State Board of Education conducted

many public meetings to discuss the standards, adapted them to meet Arizona’s needs, and

adopted the standards.

States across the country collaborated with teachers, researchers, and leading experts to design

and develop the Common Core State Standards. Each state independently made the decision to

adapt or adopt the Common Core State Standards, beginning in 2010. The federal government was

NOT involved in the development of the standards. Local teachers, principals, and superintendents

lead the implementation of Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards.

Arizona’s previous standards were not preparing students for college and career. The final

assessment just determined basic skills, not the higher level skills that are needed for

postsecondary success. The College and Career Ready Standards, on the other hand, are clear,

concise, and focused on raising expectations for all students.

Also, prior to the adoption of Arizona’s Common Core Standards, each state developed their own

standards, which varied widely across the country. The Common Core standards not only raise the

bar significantly for Arizona to give our students the best opportunities for success, but they also

establish a common baseline of expectations across the country. Students in Arizona will now be

held to the same high expectations as students everywhere else in the country.

The Arizona State Board of Education, which has the statutory authority to establish state

standards, voted in June 2010 at a public meeting to adopt the standards.

No. Arizona voluntarily elected to adopt the College and Career Ready Standards, with Arizona

additions and adaptations, because the State Board of Education and stakeholders recognized the

need to raise the quality of standards in our state.

The English language arts and math standards are for grades K-12. Research from the early

childhood and higher education communities also informed the development of the standards.

Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards are different in that

They are focused. Students will have the opportunity to go deep in their knowledge of a

particular subject and really focus on learning, rather than covering many topics at a

shallow level.

They are equitable. The standards are the same for all children regardless of background or

zip code.

They are rigorous. The College and Career Ready Standards are benchmarked against the

highest performing countries in the world so that our children will be prepared not only for

college, but for the global work place.

Standards are the statement of what students must learn, but the curriculum is the method

through which those standards are reached. Local governing boards and teachers adopt and

develop the curriculum.

Yes. The State Board of Education will adopt a test that is aligned with the new standards. The

new test will be determined in 2014, and the first test will be in the spring of 2015.

Schools have been transitioning to the new standards for three years now; this year, most schools

will be teaching the standards in all grades. The new assessments will used in 2014-2015. The

class of 2023 will be the first class to have been taught the standards each year in school.

The federal government had no role in the development of the Common Core State Standards and

will not have a role in their implementation. The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-

led effort that is not part of No Child Left Behind and adoption of the standards is in no way

mandatory.

The new standards give states the opportunity to share experiences and best practices, which can

lead to an improved ability to serve young people with disabilities and English language learners.

Additionally, the standards include information on application of the standards for these groups of

students.

The Arizona Department of Education has been doing a great deal of professional development, as

have other organizations like the Arizona Charter School Association and the K-12 Center. County

Superintendents and the Regional Centers are also working to coordinate professional development

opportunities for teachers. The Department of Education is also putting together a repository of

materials and lesson plans for teachers to use.

The Arizona Department of Education’s website contains links to many websites providing

academic assistance to students (http://www.azed.gov/azcommoncore/students/studenttoolbox/).

Also, most schools have intervention and tutoring programs to support struggling students. Be sure

to ask your child’s teacher what is available. Finally, Stand for Children has put together some

examples of how parents can support their students at home in easy ways. That resource is

available online (get2core.org/Arizona).

Get to the Core – get2core.org

Conservatives for Higher Standards - highercorestandards.org

Student Achievement Partners – achievethecore.org

EngageNY - engageny.org

PTA Parent Guides - http://pta.org/parents/content.cfm?ItemNumber=2583

Expect More Arizona Grade Level Milestones -

http://www.expectmorearizona.org/resources/parents/parentmaterials/

Council of Great City Schools – http://vimeo.com/51933492

Arizona Public Engagement Task Force -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fAAO27WEv0s

Stand for Children - http://vimeo.com/standforchildren/buildingdreams

Email your legislators & sign up to comment on bills from home –

http://www.azsba.org/advocacy