In 2017 the Tempe City Council allocated $6 million for 20 preschool classrooms now located in 12 elementary schools and serving approximately 360 children. This high-quality, tuition-based, full-day preschool program is open to families living or working in Tempe and neighboring cities. The program is five days a week with schedules corresponding to those of the individual elementary schools. Benefits include small class sizes, a play-based curriculum, and certified teachers. Financial assistance — including full tuition, half-tuition, and free tuition — is available to qualified families.
Enrichment
PHXteens
Created with input from teens and operated by the Phoenix Department of Parks and Recreation, PHXteens provides opportunities for youth to engage with their communities through consistent, unified programming at sites across the City. The initiative has produced a range of materials and resources that help facilitate youth engagement, including a mobile recreation van, promotional videos and posters, and an active social media presence.
Phoenix Youth and Teen Services
The City of Phoenix Department of Youth and Teen Services connects young people with afterschool programs, employment opportunities, and sports leagues, and provides educational programming through PHXTV Classroom, a dedicated cable channel.
Marana Cares Mobile
The Marana Cares Mobile navigates the streets of the community, offering nutritious meals, Chromebooks, and literacy activities to students during school breaks and the summer months so that students are better prepared to return to school ready to learn.
Flagstaff STEM City
Founded in 2012 by the Flagstaff STEM Consortium, STEM City convenes STEM-orientated businesses and organizations, schools, educators, and parents to develop and deliver engaging activities that strengthen STEM literacy, develop students’ competencies and employability skills, and ensure a Flagstaff workforce poised to succeed in tomorrow’s economy.
Border Youth Tennis Exchange
In 2017 Nogales launched a distinctive cross-border, afterschool youth development program, in conjunction with the U.S. Tennis Association Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Cruz County. The organization provides high-quality tennis instruction and a specialized digital academic curriculum, facilitated by bilingual educators in novel teaching spaces in Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Lesson plans include STEAM topics (science, technology, engineering, art, math); social-emotional learning; digital storytelling; and personal narrative, as well as collaborative projects and activities tailored to each site.
