Could helping schools understand Arizona education policy change classrooms for the better?

PHOENIX — A new education program called Permission Granted is working to clarify state policy and how it could be applied in the classroom.

The effort from the nonprofit Center for the Future of Arizona and the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy at Northern Arizona University includes two parts — a policy primer and an innovation guide — to help guide schools and educators.

The first part clarifies what certain policies are; the second part offers ways to put those policies into use.

Amanda Burke, executive vice president of the Center for the Future of Arizona, said having the policy is helpful, but it isn’t always adopted.

“I think often schools might believe that change requires new policy, and sure,  there may be additional policy flexibility that schools need over time, and that’s part of what we anticipate we will learn through this work,” Burke told KTAR News 92.3 FM. “But what we have found is that there’s already a lot of flexibility that can be used more fully.”

How can schools be more flexible to support students?

An example of a flexible policy is Arizona’s requirements for instructional time models, or how much time students spend in the classroom.

According to the Arizona Department of Education, schools adopt policies to allow for other learning opportunities outside of the classroom, like dual enrollment or remote options.

Chad Gestson, executive director of the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy at Northern Arizona University, said examples like these could help grow student success in the state.

“If we actually want to take the first step in designing and redesigning and reimagining what school looks like, we need to see it, not just on paper, but also start to see it in person,” Gestson said.

The program currently focuses on five policies that have flexibility on a state level:

• Instructional time model
• Scheduling
• Staffing system
• Assessments
• Professional learning systems

Education leaders hope Permission Granted empowers Arizona schools

The Center for the Future of Arizona and the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy are planning gatherings with education leaders to present the system and introduce the possibilities to districts.

Gestson said while the program could expand Arizona’s educational reach, it isn’t meant to address major issues in the state.

“A tool like this isn’t designed to fix anyone,” he said. “It’s designed to show new examples, new models and teach policy flexibility, and — most importantly — to make sure that Arizona across the state is centering education on the student and on student success.”

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

Related

New legislation could limit teachers’ ability to protest — and their privacyAvondale preschool teacher wins Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos' Pay Tribute to a Teacher awardPhoenix Union board member steps down amid calls for his resignationPhoenix kindergarten teacher wins Pay Tribute to a Teacher award for AugustArizona’s Democratic superintendent nominee wants public schools to get stockpiled ESA fundsAZ Political Podcast: Former math teacher Teresa Leyba Ruiz hopes numbers add up in November