After a summer of frozen education funds that sent schools into a tailspin, Southern Arizona school districts are finding their footing as money moves toward the special programs that need it.
As the school year began for the Tucson Unified School District this week, “grant applications were being reviewed. It’s an indication that things are normal,” said TUSD Chief Financial Officer Ricky Hernández.
In Southern Arizona’s largest district with about 40,000 students at 88 schools in grades K-12, before and after-school programs will begin on time — just after Labor Day — and others are on track.
“We are going through the process and [the Arizona Department of Education] has multiple layers of approvals so they are moving,” Hernández said. “We know it’s happening for us. It’s an indication that things are normal.”
It was anything but a standard summer for school districts when the Department of Education froze nearly $7 billion in grant money on July 1, saying grants needed to be reviewed. In addition to before and after-school programs, the programs included those for English education, teacher professional development, mental health services, technology and more. Throughout July, the back-and-forth over the funds continued. On July 25, the feds released the money.
At TUSD, the reinstatement of those grants put back $6 million total, including $1.9 million for before and after-school programs. Those programs now retain 30 jobs and will help 10,000 students.
Looking ahead to next school year, the federal education budget moved forward with an almost flat-funded bipartisan spending bill, which was approved by a Senate Appropriations Committee last week.
The Education Department is currently funded at $78.7 billion. The Senate Appropriations Committee recommends funding the Education Department for the coming year at $79 billion, according to the bill.
That’s $12.3 billion more than the White House said it wants. The bill will now be considered by the House and full Senate.
The committee voted to prevent the executive branch from removing some programs — Title I which helps many low-income families and special education — to agencies other than the Department of Education. The legislation also rejected other education funding reforms proposed by the Trump administration and says grants must be awarded on time to districts and states.
At this point, no district takes anything for granted, Hernández said.
“It was a mad scramble when we tried to have all those programs ready to go,” he said. “There’s some signs of hope after all, but I know we’ve got a ways to go before anything is final.”
Three questions with … an elementary school counselor
Marissa Enderle wanted to be a teacher and a social worker. Her calling came into focus when she started as an elementary school counselor three years ago.
At Los Amigos Tech Academy in the Sunnyside School District, Enderle, 32, aims to connect in small ways and big with the 600 students in grades K-6.
“My passion is helping people, especially kids with their mental health,” she said at Sunnyside’s kick-off celebration to begin the school year. “I absolutely feel this is where I am supposed to be.”
Three questions with Enderle as the school year begins:
Q: What does an elementary school counselor do?
“We focus a lot on the social-emotional learning. I get to go in and teach every single classroom a lesson about various topics. … Internet safety, how to be safe, bullying … Another thing I do with the littles is teach about your personal bubble and personal space.”
Q: What’s most important for your students to learn right now?
“How to speak up for yourself. That’s a big one for me. I really think kids need to learn to speak up for themselves and not to be scared. Like the worst people can say is just ‘no’ most of the time. I get to meet with some of them, one-on-one with a problem that they want to talk about. I’m always there to listen. And same with the parents. They’re welcome to call me if they know something. And I also do small groups. We talk about self esteem, do in-depth lessons And our school partners with Gabriel’s Angels, a therapeutic dog program.”
Q: What’s the best part of your job?
“Getting hugs from the kids. I do tell them: You need to make sure you ask me for a hug, though, because not everyone is going to want to hug. Consent.”
Read more …
📣 Shape YOUR education news: If you are connected to the education system — student, parent, teacher, administrator — tell us what’s working, what’s not and what/who matters.
🐶 Practice reading skills AND give love to a dog: Honey, Kobe, Jake and more furry friends are making the rounds at various Pima County Public Libraries this month. Check out this low-stress, non-judgmental audience at a library near you.
📚DEI survey: Education leaders are needed to voice your perspective on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. A University of Arizona study seeks your input on DEI in the classroom. To participate in the survey: Go here.
🏫 Back to school, but not back to the classroom: Remote learning part II for this elementary school in the Kyrene School District.
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⛰️ In-state tuition, Rocky Mountain high: Starting this fall students can attend Colorado State University Pueblo for the same cost as Coloradans.
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