The Strategic Plan guides decision-making and resource management in pursuit of organizational goals. It is “strategic” in the sense that it provides guidance over a 2-year timeframe. The strategic plan is actively reviewed and updated periodically by the City Council and management to ensure that the goals, strategies, and actions remain relevant. The plan prioritizes six areas: financial stability and sustainability, community connection, community enhancement, economic expansion, education and workforce advancement, and healthy and safe community environment. Casa Grande will continue to have success because the organization is flexible enough to respond to local, national, and global change.
Community Engagement
Lucid STEM Careers Workshop
In February 2023, Lucid Motors hosted a STEM Careers Workshop for Pinal County educators. The workshop focused on developing a Middle School STEM curriculum that exposes Casa Grande middle school students to careers at Lucid and within the STEM field. The workshop included five rotations for the teachers. Four contained hands-on activities where teachers learned about various engineering and production careers at Lucid. The fifth rotation was a Ride-Along in one of the Lucid Air vehicles.
STEM Careers Workshop
Tempe AARP Experience Corps
This program focuses on early literacy skills and provides support to struggling students in partnership with the Tempe Elementary School District. Students in kindergarten through third grade who have tested below benchmark standards in reading for their grade level receive one-on-one tutoring from highly-trained, older adult volunteers twice a week during the school year. Tempe Experience Corps volunteers have helped more than 3,000 at-risk students reach grade-level reading benchmarks since the city’s program was established in 2006.
Yuma Multiversity Campus
Mayor Nicholls’s vision to enhance accessibility to higher education culminates in plans for the Yuma Multiversity Campus (YMC). Mayor Nicholls serves as chairman of the YMC’s Governing Board, which includes multidisciplinary industry leaders from throughout the community who are working to develop a centralized campus in Yuma. The YMC will offer a full range of baccalaureate programs, utilizing the academic programs and specialties offered by the state universities and local community colleges.
Articles
Mesa K-Ready
This City-initiated, community collaborative, led by Mesa Public Schools, provides early learning opportunities for three- and four-year-old children and their parents. Funded through public and private contributions, the program serves about 200 participants each week. The goal is to increase the percentage of Mesa’s preschoolers engaged in quality early learning from 36 percent to the national average of 48 percent. Focused on cognitive development, social-emotional learning, and strong families, the program ensures seamless access to existing resources, enrichment activities, and fun activities at museums, parks, and libraries.
Gilbert Steps 2 Success
Steps 2 Success helps students obtain their high school diplomas from Gilbert Public Schools Alternative High School campus — Canyon Valley School. Teachers personalize education to meet the unique needs of the Town’s diverse students. Through individualized relationships, small class sizes, flexible schedules, and accelerated courses, Canyon Valley educators assist students in achieving their own success. Promoting self-worth, goal-setting, job readiness, and lifelong learning is at the core of the Steps 2 Success mission.
