7. POLICY
Arizona lawmakers have gutted programs across the state to offset a $3 billion budget shortfall. Until recently, a raft of education bills – such as one offering a $200 state tax credit to individuals who specifically want to donate textbooks, technology or other materials to schools – didn’t get a lot of traction at the state Legislature.

That bill is one of several being tracked by the Arizona Business & Education Coalition, a nonprofit that includes business and education leaders statewide. Several other bills – proposing everything from school-choice grants to new electronic data analysis and loan programs for teachers – were finally getting more than a cursory review at press time because lawmakers had just shored up the state’s $3 billion budget deficit.

Yet, ironically, money is the top issue for schools in 2010 and beyond: how to raise money for education, where to spend it and how to accurately measure its impact on student achievement. The same crisis that has forced us to rethink processes like energy consumption and transportation also is forcing us to address public education, says ABEC executive director Susan Carlson.

The federal stimulus bill is dropping about $1 billion on Arizona, much of which is intended for education. However, funding schools in the long run will require a major change, such as raising the property tax. The days of cheap living in Arizona may be numbered.

“I think there’s a growing recognition that Arizona’s tax code has to be reassessed,” Carlson says.

She says residents should watch the state Board of Education and the Legislature very closely. This fall, the board will likely consider whether to have a test in addition to the AIMS exam that will be given to high school juniors to see if they are ready for the academic rigors of college. And the Legislature’s voluminous budget-cutting bill includes several items addressing education.

“Keep your eyes open and stay tuned to what’s going on at the Legislature, because a bill you know today might be totally transformed tomorrow,” Carlson says.

8. HEALTH & SAFETY
Recently, Montel Williams’ teenage daughter Wyntergrace lobbied Malia and Sasha Obama to campaign for more nutritious school lunches nationwide. The president himself has promised to support physical education and healthier school environments. Both parents and activist kids would be pleased with several local wellness and safety programs, which are helping rid schools of banes from obesity to bullying.

Organic Cafeteria, Camelback Desert School
This private school is the first in the Valley to offer organic cafeteria meals, but don’t think tofu and kale salad. The school’s Scottsdale Culinary Institute-trained head chef, Tom Walsh, caters to kiddie palates with organic turkey sloppy joes; all-natural, organic fruit smoothies; organic chicken and vegetable kabobs; organic chicken nuggets; and organic chocolate chip cookies. Teachers insist on regular, healthy hydration and serve organic snacks. If children forget a lunch, they’re provided with an organic meal, and their parents are charged later. School officials say that after adopting the menu, they’ve noticed a dramatic improvement in students’ behavior and ability to focus in class.

American Horsepower Challenge
Four Valley schools are participating in this nationwide challenge to combat childhood obesity (Desert Arroyo Middle School, Sonoran Trails Middle School, Squaw Peak Elementary and Sunnyslope Middle School). For four weeks, students wear pedometers, which wirelessly upload the number of their steps to the American Horsepower Website. The site features an online game that tracks each school’s step count and plots the distance in miles on a world map. The school whose students walk the most will earn $5,000. Pilot programs found that about half the kids who participated reported exercising more, eating healthier and encouraging their families to do the same.

Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
Schoolyard bullies are so universal they’re almost considered an unavoidable part of childhood, a rite of passage to be endured silently. The Olweus Program is trying to change that. Conceived by a Swedish psychologist, the program has been implemented in more than a dozen countries worldwide and several schools locally. Students are given anonymous questionnaires about bullying at their school, then taught skills in interpersonal relationships, problem solving, listening, teamwork, leadership and citizenship. Teachers regularly meet with students and parents and stage interventions when necessary. It has reduced bully victimization by as much as  50 percent, according to several studies. Wigwam Creek Middle School in Litchfield Park and Hidden Hills Elementary School in Paradise Valley, for example, have both reported significant improvement in behavioral problems as a result of the program.

Med-Start Summer Program
Started by Dr. Merlin DuVal, founding dean of the University of Arizona College of Medicine, this five-week program held at UofA and ASU is designed to encourage primarily minority and rural students to pursue health industry careers. High school juniors from anywhere in Arizona stay on campus, taking college-level courses in chemistry and English and a “How to Apply to College” workshop. They tour health care and research facilities; meet health professionals and hear presentations about careers; and take part in health, science and leadership activities.

Photo courtesy Phoenix Country Day School Solar panels at Phoenix Country Day School

9. GREEN INITIATIVES
Environmentalism may save the planet for future generations, but it’s also helping kids right now. Teachers are using eco-friendly enterprises as learning tools. A pollution-reduction program lets children breathe easier and concentrate in class. And a scheme to motivate high schoolers to use public transportation is keeping them out of detention.

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s Anti-Idling Program
More than half of Arizona schools participate in this initiative, which has bus drivers park at least 100 feet from school air intake systems, turn off their engines upon reaching school or other locations and not restart them until departure. This curbs exposure to toxic diesel exhaust, which can exacerbate the symptoms of respiratory illnesses and cause long-term heart and lung damage, according to the ADEQ. It also clears the air of carbon monoxide, which can decrease children’s alertness and learning capacity.

Carpool/Public Transportation Incentives, Brophy College Prep
It’s an unconventional system, but when it comes to going green, we say, “Whatever works.” To shrink its carbon footprint, this all-boys private school encourages students to carpool, bike, walk or take public transportation in exchange for “Get Out of Detention Free” cards.

Green Makeover, William R. Sullivan Elementary School
Last February, with the aid of the nonprofit Earth Day Network and the University of Phoenix Foundation, this west Phoenix elementary school became eco-friendly. The school installed nine rooftop solar panels, which they hope will shave $120,000 off utility bills and cut carbon emissions by 166,000 pounds over the next 30 years. Classrooms now feature 30-percent-more-efficient fluorescent lights and “smart” power strips that shut off electricity when computers aren’t in use. Xeriscaping has replaced lawns, and local environmental consultant-cum-artist Joan Baron is helping integrate sustainability into the curriculum.

Green team, Phoenix Country Day School
Comprised of students, parents, faculty and staff, the “Green Team” at this college preparatory K-12 school is leading the way to a greener America. They’ve introduced 22 waste-and-recycling stations, reduced distribution of plastic water bottles, replaced physical school newspapers with electronic ones, switched to compact fluorescent bulbs and xeriscaped the school gardens. Through an SRP grant, they installed 20 solar panels – a source of clean energy and edification. Students collect the energy data and cross-analyze it with satellite information to examine the variance in solar energy between clear and cloudy or high-pollution conditions. Their conclusions help them with their homework: to develop ideas to optimize their solar power stations and build model solar arrays.

Outdoor Learning Environments, Hidden Hills Elementary
At this Paradise Valley public school, the garden is the center of education, nutrition, responsibility and philanthropy. The garden, pond and habitats all were made possible by student-written grants and are tended to by parents, alumni and community volunteers. Students apply science to research and plan the vegetable garden and hone their math skills measuring the space between seeds, charting the growth of their plants and using fractions in recipes to cook the fruits of their labor. They also donate portions of their harvest to a local food bank.