Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/39006
NEWS FRONT tusd FiLEs AppEAL in Ethnic studiEs cAsE NEWS This month State Superintendent of Public FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT NEWS FRONT 32 Fall 2011 ❘ AEA Advocate Instruction John Huppenthal will have to prove in court that the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Mexican American Studies program is in violation of state law. This past June, Huppenthal released his find- ings on the audit of the TUSD ethnic studies program and found that the district was out of compliance with A.R.S. § 15-112. This decision came after a month-long audit by the Arizona Department of Education investigating and reviewing TUSD’s Mexican American Studies Department’s classroom materials and instruc- tional content. Huppenthal’s decision is contra- dictory to the findings of his own audit, which found that the district’s program did not violate state law. The law targeting ethnic studies programs was passed last year and prohibits school dis- tricts from including classes that are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group or that advocate ethnic solidarity. TUSD filed an appeal of Huppenthal’s deci- sion, citing the audit’s findings, stating that the Mexican American Studies program is not in violation of the law. If the program is found in violation, then TUSD will have 60 days to com- ply or lose nearly $15 million state funding. ✒ ARizonA communitY FoundAtion AWARds $500,000 EducAtion REFoRm pRoJEct The Arizona Community Foundation (ACF) and Helios Education Foundation recently awarded a grant of $500,000 to the Opening Minds through the Arts (OMA) Foundation. Opening Minds through the Arts was found- ed in 1999 when Tucson Symphony Orchestra board member Gene Jones brought together leaders from arts organizations, the University of Arizona, and the Tucson Unified School District to implement the program. With a focus on empowering educators and artists to use the arts to help children succeed in math, sci- ence, and literacy, the OMA Foundation was formed in 2004 to support the program and pursue the mission of bringing arts integration to all students in every school. The Foundation’s efforts to bring arts integration training to schools across Arizona began in 2009. Today, under the name of Arts Integration Solutions, the OMA Foundation offers services and sup- port through training and certification, assess- ment tools, program modules, collaborative and peer networking, and material and web-based resources. The OMA Foundation will use the grant to further assist more schools and individ- uals in the state to tailor rigorous, results-driven collaboration using Arts Integration Solutions. The OMA “This grant may return badly needed focus on broadening the range of education curriculum in Arizona.” Foundation was chosen to receive the grant after a thor- ough and inclusive six-month selection process. ACF and Helios sought nominations from a field of nonprofit organizations, funders and businesses. Nominations were evaluated by a panel of rec- ognized authorities that included AEA President Andrew F. Morrill and representative voices of teachers, principals, superin- tendents, and school board members, as well as repre- sentatives from Wells Fargo, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. “We know arts education —Andrew F. Morrill, AEA President has been harmed by dev- astating budget cuts and an over-emphasis on standard- ized testing,” says Morrill. “I think this is troubling when we know from many studies that education of the arts en- hances academic study. This grant may return badly needed focus on broadening the range of education curriculum in Arizona.” ✒