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With Arizona schools being closed through the end of the school year, teachers, administrators and students alike have had to adapt in order to shift to online learning. In this episode, we’ll see how various school districts are coping with these changes, and how they are helping their communities.

In this episode, AZEdNews Intern Morgan Willis speaks with Superintendent Chad Gestson to find out how schools will survive the closures. He also interviews Dawn Penich-Thacker from SOS Arizona, to see how the organization is continuing to advocate for their causes during the quarantine. 

In this episode of the AZEDNews podcast, we speak with teachers who are making their voices heard at the capitol. Since this legislative session began, multiple bills concerning education have been introduced, listen to find out what educators think of these bills.

Former Principal Richard Sanchez, talks about how focusing on building relationships with students and an emphasis on STEM principles have helped Mansfeld Magnet Middle School raise student test scores and earn the A+ School of Excellence Award from the Arizona Educational Foundation.

Retiring Principal Dr. Kathleen Root and incoming principal Brooke Williams from Laguna Elementary School, talk about how community partnerships, focus on early learning and their emphasis on STEAM has helped the Scottsdale school be named an A+ School of Excellence for the fourth time.

Deer Valley High School Principal Kim Crooks talks about the family feel on this A+ School of Excellence’s campus, how they use technology to enhance learning and how all teachers and staff strive to do what’s best for their students.

Hear what Acacia School Principal Christine Hollingsworth says is key to helping students succeed and how that’s provided at this Title I Phoenix school that has earned the A+ School of Excellence award three times from Arizona Educational Foundation.

Current legislation that provides schools more flexibility in how they deliver instruction to English Language Learners would also help more of these students graduate high school on time. Hear what Stacey Morley with Stand for Children, Lourdes Peña with Triadvocates and Leigh Jensen with Arizona School Boards Association have to say about it.

Teachers across Arizona walked-out of their classrooms late last week to protest low pay and ask the legislature to bring per-pupil funding up to 2008 levels before the recession. Now they are at the Capitol as Legislators work on the budget bills. Hear what teachers Landon Benson, Rashid Hollins, Amy Jansen, Victoria Smith, and Zoe Hyde say drew them to the #RedForEd rallies, and listen to what American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, Congressman Raul Grijalva, and Arizona AFL-CIO Executive Director Fred Yamashita had to say about it.

A major migration of students from rural Arizona to more metropolitan areas of the state, coupled with a new funding policy passed in 2015, has led to the loss of millions of dollars in funding this year to districts that once served those students. The immediate loss is intensifying the education challenges that a new report shows already hit harder in rural school districts than in their city cousins. Listen to what Dr. Anabel Aportela with the Arizona Association of School Business Officials has to say about the effects of these forces.

What is being done at schools and the legislature to connect people with mental health and suicide prevention resources? Listen in with Denise Schatt-Denslow and Ben Denslow, founders of the JEM Foundation, and Carly Fleege, public affairs associate with Hamilton Consulting as we discuss why access to mental health services and suicide prevention resources are so important.

What would it take to increase Arizona teachers’ salaries? Listen in with Dr. Anabel Aportela, director of research with Arizona Association of School Board Officials and Arizona School Boards Association, Dr. Chuck Essigs, director of governmental relations with Arizona Association of School Board Officials and Chris Kotterman, director of governmental relations for Arizona School Boards Association as we discuss how the #RedForEd movement, which is going strong in Arizona, has affected perceptions on education funding at the Arizona Legislature and in the community and what that might mean for teacher pay over the next several years.

Meet our host for the AZEdNews podcast, Lisa Irish. Lisa covers education issues as a reporter for AZEdNews. Before this, Lisa showed reporters how to use information from government databases in their stories, wrote stock market roundups for The Wall Street Journal Online, updated AZCentral’s news each night, built up KTAR’s web presence, and briefly taught science to 7th graders before returning to reporting at The Daily Courier in Prescott. Education issues hit close to home for Lisa, who is a daughter of a teacher, is married to a teacher and is a mother of three – with one child in elementary school, another in high school and the oldest in college. Join her for our first season filled with conversation about what’s going on in education in Arizona.