Families and educators will gather on Saturday for a fair celebrating National School Choice Week.
“National School Choice Week is a time for families to explore different options available to meet their children’s educational needs. It is an occasion for schools to showcase what they do best for their students,” said Barbara Duncan, vice president of quality schools at Choose a School.
“It is an opportunity for leaders to see the schools in their districts in action and to ensure all students have a right to an excellent educational option,” Duncan continued.
The school fair and family fun night hosted by Choose a School Arizona will take place at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix on Saturday, Jan. 20 from 6-8 p.m..
Choose a School Arizona uses social media, strategic events, and one-on-one parent outreach to help families find the best education for their children and help quality schools tell their stories and find students.
More than 50 school booths and vendors will attend, including charter schools, college prep schools, microschools, Autism academies, Catholic schools, and homeschool support groups.
This will be the largest Phoenix-area celebration of National School Choice Week, which highlights “education options and the joy of learning.”
Activities will include music from the AZ School of the Arts Jazz band, a presentation of colors by the PVS School’s Space Force ROTC students, face painting, a flash mob, and a celebratory red and yellow balloon drop.
In addition to visiting booths, families can explore the museum, make balloons, eat snacks, and enjoy a photo booth.
Community sponsors for this event include Mrs. Klein’s Pickle Co. in Phoenix.
More than 750 attendees are expected to attend the event, which is open to the press and the public.
Information at the fair will be available in both English and Spanish thanks to Conoce tus Opciones Escolares, a project of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation. Families can learn more and RSVP for the free event at phoenixschoolfair.com or phoenixferiaescolar.com.
The Children’s Museum of Phoenix is located at 215 N. 7th St.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes pledged to have his office take a more assertive posture against misinformation for the 2024 election.
Fontes made the promise during an interview with 12 News on Sunday. The secretary of state said that his office would even take on the speech of other elected officials, if need be.
“You’re going to see a much more assertive attitude against folks who are lying about elections,” said Fontes. “What they’re doing is creating mistrust between regular citizens where there shouldn’t be any. None of the allegations about fraud, none of the Big Lie has been proven true.”
Fontes didn’t deny that his office may take legal action against perceived misinformation. As an example of the type of misinformation his office would target, Fontes said that Arizona voters use paper ballots — not voting machines — to cast their vote.
“We’re not going to play the role of victim. What we’re going to do is come right out and speak directly to the voters,” said Fontes. “When somebody says, ‘Well, you’ve got a problem with voting machines in Arizona.’ Well, guess what, we don’t have voting machines in Arizona. We vote on paper ballots; every ballot in Arizona has always been cast on paper ballots. You saying ‘voting machines’ is a lie. That’s the kind of assertiveness we’re going to have in our communications strategy.”
Technically, “voting machines” are those pieces of equipment that record votes electronically without paper. Arizona doesn’t have voting machines, but it does have equipment to tabulate votes, which are cast by paper ballot.
Since taking office, Fontes has pledged to combat mis- and disinformation. Fontes declared that election disinformation amounted to “terrorism” and the individuals behind the rhetoric were “fascists” in an interview with MSNBC shortly after being sworn into office. Fontes urged the public to “attack” the election disinformation.
“These new American fascists, these MAGA fascists — you call them denialists, they are fascists — we need to call them who they are,” said Fontes. “We’ve got to stop pretending that their feelings matter. These are people who are threatening the lives of our neighbors, our family members, and they’re threatening the health of our democracy.”
Vigor and strength. That’s the only way we protect our election workers and fight back against disinformation. Thank you @AliVelshi for speaking with me. https://t.co/XbZmJuQNgp
Fontes’ predecessor, now Gov. Katie Hobbs, also took an assertive posture against misinformation regarding elections. Hobbs coordinated with the Center for Internet Security (CIS), a government-funded organization, to censor online speech concerning the 2020 election.
Hobbs’ former chief of staff, Allie Bones, told reporters around the time of Hobbs’ inauguration that it was the job of governments to remove disinformation from the public square.
Hobbs was one among many government officials that coordinated with social media companies to suppress and censor speech on major public issues. Last fall, the Supreme Court agreed to take up a case concerning this coordination, Murthy v. Missouri. The court also granted a request from the Biden administration to block a lower court’s order preventing government officials from communicating with social media companies regarding content moderation policies.
Hobbs’ actions inspired the creation of a new ad hoc committee in the state legislature to review government officials’ relationships with social media companies. That House Ad Hoc Committee on Oversight, Accountability, and Big Tech convened three times in September, October, and December.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The mayor of Glendale, Arizona is urging fellow mayors to proclaim January anti-human trafficking month .
“I was surprised to discover that only eleven cities have adopted an anti-human trafficking declaration in Arizona,” Mayor Jerry Weiers said in a news release. “As leaders in a border state, we are, or should be, fully aware that human trafficking is placing a great burden on our social service structures, but it is the plight of victims that should prompt us to act decisively.”
The United States has some of the highest rates globally for human trafficking, according to Weiers’ proclamation. More than 40 million men, women, and children are victims of human trafficking per year, according to the International Labor Organization.
More than half of the victims in active human trafficking cases in the U.S. involved children, according to the Human Trafficking Institute’s 2019 Federal Report.
Weiers joined Glendale’s City Council in proclaiming January Anti-Human Trafficking Awareness Month at the weekly council meeting on January 12.
“We all have an obligation to protect the vulnerable from predators,” Weiers said. “As a result, as part of the proclamation we passed, I urged our residents and partners to work together to eliminate trafficking from our community and support the efforts of front-line organizations and law enforcement in their battle against human trafficking and to take a stand and say not in our city.”
Weiers gave the proclamation to members of the Glendale Police Department and their partners in the faith and social service sectors, who are working on combating human trafficking nationwide.
“Not one person, agency, or organization can help combat this crime alone,” Stacey Sutherland of the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network said.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Arizona’s State Treasurer is helping children to prioritize saving in the new year.
Earlier this week, Arizona State Treasurer, Kimberly Yee, released “seven practical tips to help parents and caregivers teach children how to save and realize goals for the future instead of focusing on what they think they need now.”
The seven tips were as follows:
1. Walk the Talk: Talk about what you are saving for and what sacrifices you make for retirement, vacations, their college, etc. and demonstrate that – take them with you to the bank when you make a deposit or show them how you do it on your phone or laptop for online banking.
2. Match It: Reward good savings habits by matching savings and further encouraging kids to delay gratification by saving for what they really want.
3. Make it Fun: Turn conversations about saving and college into games and crafts to keep it hands-on. Painting your own piggy bank would be the perfect time to talk about dream jobs and how to prepare and save to get there.
4. Jump Start College/Career Savings: Give children a boost with saving for their future education by setting-up a tax-deductible AZ529 Education Savings Plan. Contributions from parents, grandparents, relatives and family friends provide a jump-start for their littlest loved ones and inspires them to contribute as well.
5. Hands On Saving: Provide an allowance with rules attached for saving and spending, but make sure they earn the allowance – don’t just give them money for no reason.
6. Let them Fail: Allowing kids/teens to make a few minor financial failures when they are young can help them avoid major failures as they become adults. Missing a phone payment and losing their phone for a week would be something a teen won’t soon forget.
7. Celebrate Success: Track results and share progress with your child to help motivate them in their studies and savings and know your expectations for their future. Make a chart and when they reach a milestone, find a way to celebrate that doesn’t involve spending time together instead of money.
Yee serves as the Chairwoman of the AZ529 Plan Advisory Committee. According to its website, this committee “assists the Treasurer’s Office in promoting and raising awareness of the AZ529 Plan in accordance with A.R.S. § 41-179.” The Arizona 529 Plan “is a college savings plan named after Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code sponsored by the State of Arizona,” and “is designed to provide a parent, grandparent, or anyone else an opportunity to save for a child’s educational dreams within a tax-deferred savings vehicle.”
Late last year, the “X” account for the Arizona Education Savings Plan announced that “under the leadership of Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee, 33,632 529 accounts have been opened in the last 37 months,” and that “assets are up 16.6% in that same time frame to $1.89 billion.”
Under the leadership of Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee, 33,632 @AZ_529 accounts have been opened in the last 37 months. Assets are up 16.6% in that same time frame to $1.89 billion.
In 2023, the Arizona Education Savings Plan was upgraded to a ‘silver’ rating by Morningstar, which “reflected a superior investment team and/or investment process that should benefit the participants.”
ICYMI: @AZ_529, Arizona's Education Savings Plan was named one of the best 529 plans of 2023! The AZ529 Plan was upgraded to a Silver-rating by Morningstar, reflecting our commitment to effective and diversified education savings.
Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction is holding the state’s schools accountable for educating students about the Holocaust.
Last week, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced that he requested “all Arizona district and charter schools report their compliance with state law that requires students to be taught about the Holocaust and other genocides.”
Arizona passed a Holocaust Education bill sponsored by @almaforarizona in 2021, and with the rise of antisemitism on campuses across the state, Superintendent Horne wants to know that students are learning about the horrors of the Holocaust. https://t.co/UHBPV9pNkU
— Arizona Department of Education (@azedschools) January 10, 2024
In a statement that accompanied his news release, Horne said, “During the past three months we have learned all-too-well how many people are ignorant about the realities of the Holocaust and other genocides of history. We have heard about pro-Hamas and anti-American propaganda being spread in a high school student club, students being intimidated because of their ethnicity, and we have seen pro-Hamas protests on college campuses.”
The Republican superintendent expressed his gratitude for the law granting his office the ability to hold schools accountable for the statutory teaching of this educational material. He added, “Expressions of hatred like this are unacceptable in an educational setting and a powerful way to combat this scourge is with learning. Students would not be vulnerable to antisemitic propaganda if they had received proper Holocaust instruction. I’m grateful state law exists to require instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides, and it is important to ensure that districts and charter schools are in compliance.”
The law that the state’s schools chief referenced was HB 2241, which was passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed into law by then-Governor Doug Ducey. The bill was sponsored by Alma Hernandez, a Democrat. It passed both chambers with almost unanimous support. Ducey, in his letter to then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, informed her that he was signing the legislation to “ensure that we continue to teach our students the history of past atrocities, which in return will instill greater compassion, critical thinking, societal awareness, and educational growth in our students.”
Horne’s deadline for Arizona schools to report to the state Department of Education is January 24. He informed schools that his department “provides resources, training, and support for educators in meeting House Bill 2241.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) has gone viral for its videos depicting officers pulling over and ticketing left lane campers.
Their viral work has earned the sheriff’s office a certain level of appreciation from both Arizona and national viewers online and, in some cases, even from those who were pulled over for left lane camping.
In the latest viral video featuring Officer Frank Sloup, part of a series titled “Fridays With Frank,” one driver believed they were speeding, though they were, in fact, impeding the flow of traffic by driving too slow in the left lane.
“The left lane, per Arizona state law, is meant for passing,” said Sloup. “When cars are passing you on the right, you’re forcing them to make a dangerous move.”
That driver didn’t sound too unhappy to have been pulled over. He asked Sloup whether he was the viral officer on TikTok, and even asked for a picture. Sloup happily obliged.
“Are you the one that’s on TikTok? Can I have a picture?” asked the driver.
In the first vehicle pulled over, Sloup discovers that the driver was not only guilty of camping in the left lane, but of having a suspended license — despite having a passenger with a valid license capable of driving.
“That’s why you don’t know you can’t be in the left lane: it’s because you’re a terrible driver, and your license is suspended,” said Sloup.
Sheriff Mark Lamb won an Emmy Award for his office for his video compilation pulling over left lane campers. Despite the video’s popularity, Sloup criticized Lamb for only giving warnings on his traffic stops.
“He’s just nice and he talks to people and he’s all happy,” said Sloup.
Sloup also observed that the sound of traffic citation paper being written on and torn was hardly heard in Lamb’s vehicle.
“In Sheriff Lamb’s truck, you hear a lot about God, family, and freedom. You know what you don’t hear in Sheriff Lamb’s truck, is this sound,” said Sloup, as he tore a ticket.
Sloup’s latest viral video wasn’t his first. The PCSO has issued a number of videos, most recently last month with recognition from “Morning in America.” Sloup explained that the idea behind the video compilations emerged as a PSA following the passage of the hands-free driving law in 2021.
