Arizona Mayors Bridge School and Community Goals for Improved Student Success
History
The Roundtable brings together mayors from large and small cities and towns in Arizona, district superintendents, and their key staff to share data, evidence-based and promising practices, and programmatic strategies that can help address local challenges affecting students’ educational and career success. The Arizona Mayors Education Roundtable launched in October 2012 with an initial $250,000 investment from the Helios Education Foundation. Press conferences were held in Phoenix and Tucson to announce the initiative. City of Casa Grande Mayor Craig McFarland is the current Roundtable chair.
Elevating the Mayoral Role in Education
Roundtable members know that a quality education system is an important driver of economic growth and a key indicator of a city’s overall health. Mayors are reimagining their role when it comes to education, imbuing it with proactive responsibility and leveraging the influence inherent to their position.
Roundtable mayors use their leadership to inaugurate partnerships, explore innovative programs, and implement comprehensive strategies that address local challenges. Their impact is evidenced by programs such as Building Blocks to Great Schools, City Youth Councils, College Connect and College Promise, Mesa K-Ready, Tempe PRE, and Steps to Success. Our mayors are having a powerful impact on public education and helping to ensure that Arizona schools make it possible for all students to succeed.
The Educational Attainment Imperative
Participating mayors strive to improve educational attainment rates in their own communities and across the state. To achieve the statewide postsecondary attainment goal of 60 percent by 2030, our members emphasize that college and career readiness begins with quality early childhood learning opportunities and continues through postsecondary training and studies. While early collaborative efforts focused on reducing high school dropout rates and the number of disconnected youth in their cities, priorities now include early childhood learning and postsecondary completion.
Funding
Major funding for the Roundtable is provided by the Helios Education Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Arizona Community Foundation.
Management
The Roundtable is operated by WestEd — a nonpartisan, nonprofit, research, development, and service agency that works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults.
Meet Our Mayors!
Our students deserve an excellent education and every opportunity to be prepared for college and careers despite their income and zip code. The Arizona Mayors Education Roundtable brings together city and educational leaders to have critical conversations to improve education for every child in Arizona.”
Greg Stanton
Former Mayor of Phoenix
US Representative for Arizona’s 9th Congressional District
