Ducey wants to increase professional training opportunities for Arizona principals
Apr 26, 2017, 3:51 PM
(Public Domain Photo)
(Public Domain Photo)
PHOENIX — If Gov. Doug Ducey has his way, school principals in Arizona may soon have more professional training opportunities.
Governor Doug Ducey said Wednesday he wants to fund the expansion of the Beat The Odds Leadership Academy that is offered through the Center for the Future of Arizona.
“The executive recommendation for this year is $250,000 to match equivalent funds from Arizona’s philanthropic community,” he told a seminar.
“If we want to improve the performance of quality Arizona education system, we need to get the best possible leaders in our schools,” he said.
The academy has trained more than 200 school principals since it began in 2007. The program offers classes for honing leadership skills, helping more under-performing students succeed and leading teachers to better outcomes in their classrooms.
The program’s aimed at principals who head schools with low-performing students or those with predominantly low-income Latino students.
“We all want to see our kids doing better,” Ducey said. “I think we can look for best practices. Beating the Odds is training principals as to how to lead a school.”
The Center for the Future of Arizona said cited recent research when it said principals account for about 25 percent of a school’s total impact on student achievement.
