Early literacy is the foundation for positive outcomes for our youth
BY COUNCILMEN RICK HEUMANN
Early literacy is the foundation for children to succeed in school and life. The thought that children will learn how to read in pre-kindergarten or kindergarten will be too late. Literacy efforts need to begin at birth.
The most crucial ages for preparing the brain’s development are 0 to 5 years old. It’s important for children to have a positive environment starting at home that will support them through their school years.
Education has always been a priority in Chandler.
organizations committed to ensuring every child, birth to 5, obtains the necessary literacy skills for school readiness.
The Chandler Education Coalition was formed in 2011. The coalition consists of members from community businesses, agencies and organizations that already offer programs related to education and literacy. Through the coalition, a literacy subcommittee was formed, now known as Read On Chandler. This group is a collaboration of community
The goal is to not create more programs, but to review the ones that are in place and ensure they’re being used to the fullest potential. It’s also important that available resources are accessible to families. Statistics show that about 64 to 70 percent of students attending specific schools come unprepared. This is not acceptable as the State of Arizona requires that all students must be proficient in reading before graduating from the third grade. Schools are spending additional funding on remediation to bring these students to the proficiency level required. Less intervention will be needed if early literacy efforts start at home.
To understand where needs may be, the Valley of the Sun United Way recently completed a literacy scan. The data collected from this scan will identify those areas needing assistance. Read
On Chandler is analyzing this data and reaching out to community partners to discuss strategies that will turn these statistics around.
Stronger partnerships will be developed among the community organizations as the immediate target areas and current programs are identified. It’s beneficial to have all the players involved from the beginning, not just with the organizations, but starting at home and school. Through effective leadership and partnering, the data will align and adapt resources necessary for the continued success of children through high school graduation and college. Components of readiness include family engagement, health, screening and assessment, awareness, language, and outreach.
On a recent “Chandler In Focus” show, I spoke with Joanne Floth, executive director of Read On Chandler, and Mary Sagar, Downtown Chandler library manager. It was exciting to hear about their partnership and the variety of early literacy programs currently offered. The Chandler libraries offer programs such as “High Five Play Group,” “Every Child
It’s always election season for county recorder
BY DENNY BARNEY, MARICOPA COUNTY SUPERVISOR, DISTRICT 1
You might wonder what an entire elections office does in the “off-season.”
There are four consolidated dates for jurisdictions to hold elections: March, May, August and November. This means, in fact, there is almost always an election! On top of the larger city and state elections, the department also manages special elections, such as library, fire, hospital and school districts and the presidential preference. The department accommodates these workload swings by only having 55 permanent employees supplemented by 200 temporary employees. The temporary employees work for months preceding an
election on early voting, voter registration and poll worker recruitment. Others assist in postelection processing and the state-mandated handcount process. On top of that, the department requires 3,846 special election poll workers and 118 troubleshooters at the peak of major elections. These individuals work to setup polling places, replace equipment and monitor polling activity so each voter’s experience is seamless. Elections need this dynamic workforce model to manage the more than 1.3 million ballots cast each statewide election.
When they aren’t administering our First Amendment right to vote, they are promoting it.
The department conducts outreach events several times a week across the 724 precincts countywide. These include naturalization ceremonies, high school education events and other voter registration efforts. And they are very effective. The elections department registers nearly 10,000 new voters each year. Their good work doesn’t stop there; they also work to spread our democratic values to other countries. Maricopa County has been
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Ready to Read” and “Read to Succeed.” At the end of the “High Five Play Group,” participants receive reading together activity cards that are in English and Spanish. These cards provide literacy tips as well as book suggestions. All programs offered at the Chandler libraries are free. There are also opportunities to tutor or volunteer. For information on these programs and how to be involved, visit the Chandler Library website at www. chandlerlibrary.org.
It’s important that parents and caregivers understand their responsibility and role in developing young minds in preparation for school. Reach out to the school and local organizations, as well as Read On Chandler. For information about Read On Chandler and available resources, visit readonchandler.org. To view the Chandler In Focus show discussing early literacy efforts, visit www.chandleraz.gov/ video.
Councilman Rick Heumann, whose term expires January 2017, can be reached at rick.heumann@chandleraz.gov.
asked to provide tours for visitors from France, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Russia, India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These tours, organized through the World Affairs Council of Arizona, help develop best practices for transparent and fair elections around the globe.
They do all this by being flexible and innovative.
The elections department is also one of the most tech-savvy departments in government. For the past few decades they have made major advances in
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new technology. These have improved accountability to the public, accessibility to individuals with disabilities and convenience for everyone. In 2014, they introduced ePollbooks which replace paper registers and rosters at the polling place. Each electronic poll book contains all voters’ files. With a scan of the voter’s driver’s license or identification card, an individual’s registration record will appear. If the voter is at the wrong polling place, the poll book will print a receipt with the address of the correct polling place location. ePollbooks also reduce provisional ballots, ensures each voter only gets one vote and eliminates the need to turn every page of the paper poll books manually. That’s a big improvement. Their achievements have been recognized nationally.
Since our elected county recorder, Helen Purcell, took office in 1988, her department has been the recipient of many awards and much praise. They have been recognized by The Smithsonian Collection, the National Association of Counties and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. These awards highlight their achievement in military and overseas voting, voting by mail and many more. So, whether or not the next election “goes your way,” we can all celebrate this fundamental right. But take a moment and remember the individuals who ensure this right is convenient, accessible and fair.
Fostering strong neighborhoods, leaders in Chandler
BY MAYOR JAY TIBSHRAENY
This year’s budget process was aptly themed: “Chandler, the place to be.” There are many reasons why our community stands among the best in the nation as a destination for families, business and visitors. Among them are the many communities that thrive here because of strong leadership, pride in ownership and camaraderie among neighbors.
These are the places within our city’s boundaries where people come together to conquer challenges and create lasting relationships that help mold more sustainable neighborhoods. In 2013, I launched an awards program to commemorate these special places. Now in its third year, nominations are open once again for the Neighborhood Excellence Awards.
information is also available on the site. Best of all, once we have narrowed the field through a judging panel, residents will again be able to vote online to pick their favorite.
These awards recognize, support and encourage neighborhoods and those who work so hard to make them better. And to develop the next generation of neighborhood leaders, we will also bring back the Teen Leadership Academy I launched earlier this year.
This class works with high school students to better involve them in the workings of the City, but also helps them develop a new sense of pride for their community. Applications are available online at the same web address listed above—and the academy will take place from March 7 to March 11, during the first week of Chandler Unified School District’s intersession.
that will increase their awareness and engagement in the local government process. We’ll even provide some food and class T-shirts, compliments of the Chandler Kiwanis Club.
We will review the applications in December and formally announce the second class at my State of the City Address next February. Participants in the inaugural class encountered a tremendous learning experience, and our city will benefit as we grow and cultivate this new generation of leaders.
Here are a couple of comments from the students enrolled in the first class: “This experience taught me that City government has a direct impact on the citizens that live within it.” And, “This experience exceeded all my expectations. I could not have asked for a better program to be a part of.”
If you know a teen (or are one!) who could benefit from this experience, encourage them to apply today at www. chandleraz.gov/connect.
The awards program includes four categories: Best Neighborhood Event, Most Active or Engaged Neighborhood, Best Revitalization Story and Best Neighborhood Leader. The nomination process will take place through Nov. 20, and I will announce the winners in the spring of 2016. Applying is simple and can be done at the City’s website, www.chandleraz.gov/connect. More
Like this year’s class, teens will learn about all facets of City government and take part in exercises and activities
Correction
Mayor Jay Tibshraeny can be reached at jay.tibshraeny@chandleraz.gov. His term expires January 2019.
In the “Women’s faces by women artists on display at the CCA” story on Page 57 of the Aug. 15 issue, it should have said that Chris Saper painted the portrait of Janet Napolitano.
Mayor Jay Tibshraeny. Submitted photo