News & Events Newsletter Archive Newsletter July 2024

July 2024

New for Educators: Transform Your Classroom with Personalized Learning

Discover how Explore from the Arizona Personalized Learning Network can enhance job satisfaction, reduce workload, and elevate student success. Explore is a free, on-demand resource designed for educators interested in learning about and adopting personalized, competency-based instructional approaches. Signing up is easy, and individual educators can access the resources at their own pace.

Empower your classroom today

Honoring Public Servants at the 2024 Gabe Zimmerman Public Service Awards



	From left to right: Ryan Judy, Leah Powell, Ross Zimmerman, Scott Hall, and Jared Beard.

Earlier this month, we announced the 2024 recipients of the Gabe Zimmerman Public Service Awards during a ceremony held at the Arizona City and County Management Association summer conference in Tucson. These awards, presented annually, honor the impactful achievements of dedicated non-elected public servants statewide, highlighting their commitment to civic service. This year’s recipients include Leah Powell, Neighborhood Resource Director, City of Chandler; Ryan Judy, Deputy Town Manager, Town of Prescott Valley; Jared Beard, Assistant Director, Maricopa County Workforce Development Division; and Scott Hall, Deputy Director, Office of Homeless Solutions, City of Phoenix.

Congratulations to all awardees – your contributions are invaluable to our Arizona communities!

Read more about the awardees

Connecting Students to Career Pathways in Health Sciences



Educators participate in hands-on activities during Bioscience Teacher Day at Phoenix Bioscience Core’s campus in Downtown Phoenix.

Career exploration starts in the classroom. That’s why we joined Bioscience Teacher Day along with the Phoenix Bioscience Core, Maricopa County Superintendent’s Office, University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, and City of Phoenix. We connected with over 50 teachers helping them implement career exploration, including health science career pathways, in their classrooms.

Bring career exploration to your classroom

Learning Civic Skills Allows Students to Make Real Change in their Communities



	Student Voice Institute attendees and facilitators pose for a group photo at the ASU Chandler Innovation Center.

To advance The Arizona We Want we need active, informed, and engaged communities now more than ever. That‘s why we hosted the first Student Voice Institute in partnership with Project Citizen. The professional development training for teachers offers an overview of two impactful civic education programs. School Participatory Budgeting (SPB) and Project Citizen position students as changemakers within their school’s decision-making processes. The Student Voice Institute fills the need for high-quality professional development for educators to implement these programs while also strengthening collaborations with civic education programs from across the state.

Bring SPB to your school community

Supporting All Arizonans This Election Season



Spark the Spectrum workshop attendees gather at the Ability 360 Conference Center in Phoenix.

CFA Executive Vice President Amanda Burke presented our new 2024 Arizona Voters’ Agenda alongside election officials and disability rights advocates at Spark the Spectrum, an interactive and accessible voting workshop. Ensuring Arizona voters with disabilities make their voices heard during elections contributes to a thriving future for all.

Coming Tomorrow: New Voter Ed Episode from Arizona PBS

“Voter Ed" is part of a new initiative from Arizona PBS and CFA, designed to educate voters ahead of the 2024 election. We launched a five-episode digital-first series covering key civic topics and are promoting the 2024 Arizona Voters’ Agenda survey research on the station's election-focused website. In the upcoming second episode of "Voter Ed," host Ted Simons will explain Arizona’s voter registration process and stress the importance of civic engagement. Don't miss the episode premiering on July 26; catch up on the first episode before then!

Seven issue-focused segments will also be featured on the Arizona Horizon public affairs show starting July 30. CFA Chair, President & CEO Dr. Sybil Francis will join the broadcast to share how the forthcoming segments were inspired by insights from CFA's Gallup Arizona Survey, which identified the seven shared public values among Arizonans.

Watch Voter Ed episodes

Growing Up in Arizona: Dive into CFA Co-Founder Lattie Coor’s Deep-Rooted Passion for Our State



	On the cover of “Growing Up in Arizona,” Lattie and Elva Coor are pictured on the Arizona Trail.

Get to know Lattie Coor, ASU’s 15th president and CFA Founding Chair Emeritus, in a new memoir that captures his remarkable life, numerous achievements, and his commitment to building a better future for Arizona.

Get the book