The Center for Issues in K-12 Education
Director: John Bell, Professor Emeritus of Secondary Education

Mission Statement

The K-12 Center is organized to solicit the involvement of retired faculty members into activities relating to issues of public, private, and charter schools in the metropolitan Phoenix area and around the state of Arizona. There are always needs for persons who can adapt knowledge of their disciplines to learning levels of young people, persons who can assist teachers to develop learning teaching strategies that improve learning performances of students, and persons who can become effective influences for the improvement of educational policies.  Following are some examples:

  • Develop partnerships or join partnerships already in existence that are addressing educational needs of communities
  • Develop a clearinghouse of potential projects that need assistance along with a database of emeritus faculty available to participate, including a website for communicating to clientele.
  • Conduct conferences and seminars on current educational issues in collaboration with other educational entities.
  • Recruit emeriti to produce programs (lessons) on special topics of interest for use by teachers and students in classroom activities.
  • Arrange for opportunities for emeriti to engage in activities with college students and faculty in ways that their particular talents may be used to satisfy a unique need and purpose.

 

Among the potential opportunities for involvement in the Center are:

  • Guest speakers and/or panelists for undergraduate or graduate classes or seminars
  • Mentors for students, especially graduate students;
  • “Specialists in residence” to classes in elementary, middle, and high schools—participating with students and teachers;
  • Participants in the professional development or in-service education program of a particular school or school district;
  • Partners with ASU faculty members to provide programs for students with special needs (possibly involving ASU students and giving instruction for them as well);
  • Partners with schools to assist with projects to meet special needs for which other resources are not readily available;
  • Developers of conferences, workshops, and seminars on current educational issues, possibly in collaboration with such educational entities as the Arizona Department of Education, the ASU College of Education, or local school districts;
  • Producers of programs (lessons) on special topics of interest to schools and teachers, some of which might be self-standing in nature and usable by other than the creator.

 

Links within ASU

As is probably apparent in the above descriptions, a number of our activities will have “connections” with ASU program areas, such as:

  • College of Education
    • Elementary and Secondary Teacher Education
    • Media and Computers
    • Early Childhood Education
    • Special Education
    • Counseling and Educational Psychology
  • Dean/VP Eugene Garcia’s Partnerships with local schools
  • CLAS Ambassadors
  • Academic departments that deliver teaching majors

The Center has also established working relations with the “Center for the Future of Arizona,” organized by Lattie Coor.

 

Potential Funding

Wherever possible, we will seek special funding to carry on and enhance the programs we support. Such possibilities may be “No Child Left Behind,” ADE, foundations such a Flinn and Rodel, and partnering with on-going projects like the AZ Dropout Study.

 

Program Development

To plan and coordinate the activities of the Center, there will be an Advisory Committee.  There will be a need to visit schools/districts to identify prevailing problems.  We will need to recruit emeritus faculty that seem to “fit” a particular situation that calls for a data base of talents and interests to match against the list of possible needs to be met.