by Matthew Holloway | Oct 6, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) announced on Thursday that it has entered a multi-year partnership with The Jed Foundation (JED) to expand the state’s training options for school mental health professionals. According to the ADE, JED is a resource that “protects emotional health and prevents suicide among teens and young adults nationwide.”
The ADE and JED shared that nearly 1 in 4 high school students in Arizona report seriously considering a suicide attempt every year, with 1 in 10 attempting.
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said in a press release, “Across student age groups, suicide is one of the leading causes of death. It is imperative that our mental health professionals are provided with the latest information to help recognize and the best practices to respond to the warning signs that may help families avert these devastating tragedies.”
The initiative with JED will provide school mental health professionals with “an evidence-informed suicide prevention training course,” according to the ADE. The initiative was designed based on Arizona’s policies, staffing structures, and cultural and educational contexts, the Jed Foundation stated.
“School-based mental health supports are critical to student well-being, stronger academic outcomes, and preparing young people for the workforce and future opportunities,” Dr. Tony Walker, senior vice president of school programs and consulting at JED, said in a statement. “We’re proud to partner with ADE and help to ensure Arizona’s school-based mental health professionals are prepared and confident to identify warning signs, act quickly in a crisis, and connect students to the right support so they can thrive in school and in life.”
According to JED, the two-hour training course, entitled “Suicide Prevention for Arizona School Mental Health Professionals,” will train attendees to:
- Identify signs of self-injury and crisis, including signs of suicidal thoughts or intense emotional distress.
- Understand the role of suicide risk screening in a comprehensive prevention approach and learn how to administer screening tools.
- Take action when a student is in crisis by engaging the support team, ensuring immediate safety, and documenting and following school protocols (or helping to establish protocols, when needed).
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Jonathan Eberle | Oct 3, 2025 | Education, News
By Jonathan Eberle |
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is sounding the alarm over what he describes as “catastrophic” levels of chronic absenteeism among Arizona high school students, citing a new report from the Helios Foundation. The Helios report defines chronic absenteeism as missing nine days in a semester or 18 days in a school year. According to the findings, 28.1 percent of Arizona students in grades 1–8 are chronically absent. That number climbs to 37 percent among high school students.
“This is catastrophic. We cannot teach students who are not in school,” Horne said. “The high school student who misses more than one third of his classes is facing a bleak future.”
Horne highlighted the Dysart Unified School District in the Phoenix area as a standout example of combating the problem. Dysart has significantly lower absenteeism rates—9 percent in grades 1–8 and 8.69 percent in grades 9–12—compared to state averages.
According to Horne, Dysart enforces strict accountability measures: students in grades 1–8 who miss 18 days in a year must repeat the grade, while high school students who miss more than nine days in a semester cannot receive credit for their courses.
“They got there because they held students and parents accountable,” Horne said. “The Dysart method is successful and makes sense. It is what schools mostly did in the past before our culture got so much more permissive. Academic loss is the price we have paid for that permissiveness.”
Horne also pointed to the role of parents in ensuring daily attendance. He said the pandemic shifted some attitudes, with parents viewing absences as less serious than before. He argued that once parents understand the direct link between absenteeism and on-time graduation, they become more engaged.
“As a former member of a school board for 24 years, I can testify that it is very important to parents that their children graduate on time,” Horne said. “The data show the Dysart method is the most effective way to reduce chronic absenteeism.”
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 1, 2025 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Superintendent Tom Horne and Treasurer Kimberly Yee are at odds over a sizeable loan to a school district.
Horne wants Yee to approve a $3 million cash advance to Nadaburg Unified School District (NUSD), located inside Wittman. He stated in a Monday press release that Yee failed to conduct a proper review of the district’s finances before denying the advance.
The superintendent cleared up previous reports of a projected deficit as a “clerical error.” Horne called Yee’s denial “irresponsible” and urged her to reconsider.
“Our Finance Division did its research and determined that Nadaburg is operating within its budget, and by the end of the year they will have a projected positive cash balance of $1.3 million. Initially it was thought that they would have a negative cash balance at the end of the year, but the Department of Education, being a service institution, checked the forms and found the district made an unintentional clerical error that they can correct,” said Horne. “The Treasurer could have done the same review because she has the necessary forms, which were provided to her by our office, and her office failed to follow up with us to determine why we approved the advance.”
Yee not only denied the district a $3 million cash advance to address a $5 million deficit, she asked the Joint Legislative Audit Committee to direct a special investigation of the district through the Auditor General. The reported deficit amounted to three times the total amount of revenue NUSD anticipates from property taxes.
Yee’s announcement came last week, several days before Horne issued his response.
The treasurer expressed concern that Horne and the Arizona Department of Education had approved an advance to a district “in considerable financial crisis.” Although Horne alleges Yee failed to conduct a proper review of NUSD finances, Yee claimed in that preceding press release that she identified poor financial practices.
“The state’s top education agency should have been able to identify, as the Arizona Treasury has, that this District may desperately need financial experts to bring their books into the black,” said Yee.
In the denial letter to NUSD Superintendent Aspasia Angelou, Yee said the district failed to justify the necessity of the expenses the advance would cover and failed to show efforts to reduce current expenses to the minimum.
“[This] raises concern that the deficit is not necessary due to the timing of property tax collections, but could potentially be indicative of gross financial mismanagement,” said Yee. “[Our office] is seriously concerned that an advancement of funds now will only compound the district’s deficit and harm the financial stability of the district for years to come.”
In his Monday press release, Horne dismissed Yee’s claim of financial mismanagement as lacking any evidence. Rather than evidence of impropriety, Horne said the request was normal.
“District cash advances are common because a school district’s income and expenses may fluctuate,” said Horne. “As long as the district’s cash position is positive by the end of the year, and the funds will be paid back, cash advances are allowable.”
NUSD cited a low ending fund balance from the prior fiscal year and decreased property tax collections in 2024 as the main reasons for the deficit.
There are nearly 1,500 students in NUSD.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Jonathan Eberle | Sep 30, 2025 | Education, News
By Jonathan Eberle |
Arizona is introducing a new apprenticeship program aimed at tackling the state’s ongoing teacher shortage, according to Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne. The Arizona Teacher Registered Apprenticeship Program (AZ TRAP), developed in collaboration with the Arizona Office of Apprenticeship, provides aspiring educators with a pathway to certification at little to no cost. Participants gain classroom experience while earning a wage and receiving mentoring and professional development.
“There is a crisis in Arizona, and we must take strong action. We are losing more teachers than are coming into the profession,” Horne said. “If we don’t do something major, we could end up with zero teachers. Apprenticeship programs are another tool to be used alongside efforts to improve teacher pay and administrative support.”
Horne emphasized that the program is designed to increase accessibility to teacher certification and build a stronger pipeline of educators. “The Arizona Department of Education is a service-oriented agency, and this effort is part of my commitment to training quality educators for Arizona classrooms,” he said.
The program has received $1.5 million in funding from the Maricopa County Workforce Development Board to support apprentices in Maricopa County for the 2025–2026 school year.
Key features of AZ TRAP include:
- Pilot partnerships with Mesa Public Schools, Phoenix Union High School District, The Arizona Teacher Residency Program, and PLC Charter Schools, which will employ teacher apprentices and collaborate with the Department of Education.
- Hands-on experience, giving aspiring teachers thousands of hours of on-the-job learning under the guidance of mentor teachers.
- Grow Your Own Model, allowing schools to select prospective employees and integrate them into their culture early, with the goal of improving teacher retention.
The apprenticeship program represents a targeted effort to prepare educators for Arizona classrooms while addressing one of the state’s most pressing education challenges.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Ethan Faverino | Sep 29, 2025 | Education, News
By Ethan Faverino |
Native American students across Arizona are achieving significant improvements in reading and math proficiency, driven by targeted school improvement strategies, according to State Superintendent Tom Horne.
Notably, three schools in the Chinle Unified School District are now surpassing state averages in both math and English, making a transformative shift in educational outcomes. They saw an increase from 20% proficiency in 2023 to 34% districtwide.
“When I took office in January 2023, I was informed that the average proficiency rate for Native American students was five percent,” said Superintendent Horne in a press conference. “This was very upsetting to me, as it would affect the students’ employment prospects and quality of life. I said that we would change everything we were doing in that respect and give total focus to increasing proficiency rates among Native American students. I met with tribal leaders who were shocked to learn about the five percent number and agreed with me that action had to be taken.”
Through collaboration between the Offices of Indian Education and School Improvement, schools have received extensive support, such as teacher training, on-site visits, and leadership guidance, to help them and their students succeed.
Horne added, “With outstanding leadership from leaders of Native American districts, and our help, the proficiency rates of Native American students have soared.”
Other districts in the state have also reported extraordinary progress. Ganado Unified School District saw a 159% growth in students testing proficient in math and English, while Red Mesa Unified School District achieved a growth of 149%.
Baboquivari Unified School District recorded a 197% increase, Kayenta Unified School District a 122% jump, Sacaton Elementary District a 124% increase, and Tuba City Unified School District a 113% improvement.
Chinle Unified School District Superintendent Quincy Natay credited the success to a collective effort. “We are extremely proud of the progress our students and teachers have made,” Natay said. “These gains are a direct result of our governing board’s support of our vision and strategic plan, dedication of our educators, the support of our parents and communities, and the hard work of our students. We remain committed to building on this momentum and ensuring that all our students, across every grade level, have the opportunities and education to improve their quality of life.”
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
