The Veridus Weekly

Please note the Veridus Weekly is taking a break next week but will return to your inbox on January 5, 2018.  

In Focus

To resign or not to resign, that is the question.

At least, it’s the question right now for state Sen. Debbie Lesko (R-Peoria), who this week announced her candidacy for the congressional seat last held by the recently-resigned U.S. Rep. Trent Franks.

Arizona has a resign-to-run law meant to ensure elected leaders don’t continue to hold one office long-term while running for another. A nice idea. Its implementation gets, let’s just say, complicated.

Franks’ resignation has triggered a CD-8 special primary election on Feb. 27, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file campaign paperwork for the primary is Jan. 10. Here’s where it gets interesting (to election law weirdos, anyway): the final year of Sen. Lesko’s legislative term begins Jan. 7. That means, if Sen. Lesko has any intention of maintaining her Capitol seat during the congressional race, she must file her campaign documents during the four days between Jan. 7-10.

Of course, it’s likely she intends to resign her seat and devote herself full-time to the congressional race anyway … in which case, the last two minutes are something you’ll never get back.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

State population grows on wave of newcomers
Arizona Capitol Times

Arizona added enough residents in the 12 months ending July 1 to rank its growth the fifth highest in the nation.

New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau put the state’s population at 7,016,270. That’s 1.6 percent higher than the same period a year earlier.

Only Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Washington grew faster. Florida’s growth rate matched Arizona.

[...] What’s driving growth is that people are moving here from elsewhere. And one out of every five of those 79,316 new residents actually came from another country.

[...] Arizona’s growth rate, while above the national average, was not enough to actually move the state up in the national rankings.

It remains at No. 14. And given that No. 13 Washington is growing even faster, the odds of overtaking that state, whose population tops 7.4 million, are not good for the foreseeable future.

Less clear is whether the state’s growth rate will lead to more political influence in Congress.

Arizona currently has 9 seats in the 435-member U.S. House. And if you were to divide the state’s population into the national figure, it comes out at close to 9.9.

[...] Read more HERE.

President Trump signs tax bill
Los Angeles Times

President Trump on Friday morning signed a sweeping tax-cut measure — his first major legislative achievement — before heading off for a Christmas vacation at his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Fla.

The president also privately signed a short-term spending bill to fund government operations through Jan. 19. Congress approved it Thursday, after Republican leaders were unable to bridge differences in their own party as well as with Democrats to get agreement on funding for the full fiscal year. The stopgap bill punts fights on immigration and other issues to January.

[...] Trump signed the bill quietly Friday, but held a public ceremony with Republican lawmakers on Wednesday after the bill’s passage; he also tweeted about the measure extensively. He is expected to hold another public ceremony after the New Year’s holiday.

Read more HERE.

Veridus clients in the news

New private facility for Mesa's jail inmates gets (mostly) good reviews
Arizona Republic

Six months after Mesa's controversial switch to a private jail contract, the city's mayor, judges and even a few of those incarcerated are giving the arrangement high marks.

In exit surveys obtained by The Arizona Republic, one person who had been jailed wrote, "CoreCivic is the best facility I've been to in the Phoenix area." The same person scrawled at the bottom of the page, "5 (star drawing) rating."

The surveys, 20 total, offer a glimpse into what more than 1,200 Mesa prisoners have experienced going in and out of the CoreCivic facility in Florence since July, when the city's contract with the private corrections company began.

Mesa became the first city in Arizona to privatize its jail after a May vote by the City Council. The three-year, $15 million contract includes transportation to Florence and housing for inmates incarcerated for misdemeanors.

The Republic also toured the facility and spoke to two inmates in interviews that CoreCivic helped coordinate. Both remarked that the area for Mesa's inmates felt cleaner than the space in MCSO jails and that they were taking advantage of programs including drug rehabilitation.

[...] Read more HERE.

Liddile: Charter schools fill need for many families
Pinal Central

Lately, we’ve seen a number of allegations made against charter schools in Arizona. What have been missing are charter families with their own stories to tell.

This is mine.

My name is Tiffany Liddile. My husband, Terrance, and I are the proud parents of four beautiful children. We’re a charter-school family — each of our children has attended the Avondale campus for Legacy Traditional Schools. Our two youngest boys are currently in the second and seventh grade; our oldest son is a freshman in high school; and our daughter graduated this year.

Why we chose charter

It was through my daughter that we became part of the charter community about seven years ago. She had been attending a nearby public district school, but it wasn’t a good fit. When it became clear that our daughter was falling behind academically, we realized we weren’t doing her any favors by keeping her in a school that just wasn’t for her.

After researching our options and seeking the opinions of friends and fellow parents, we found a charter school — Legacy Traditional School — that seemed to be able to meet her needs. Understandably, we were nervous about the change to a new school with new classrooms, new faces, new teachers and a new curriculum.

Our concerns about the transition were eased as we met with and established relationships with the administrators, teachers and staff at Legacy Traditional. We never felt anything but welcomed, and they worked with us to ease her transition to a new school. Most of all, it was clear this school and its teachers cared about our child’s education as much as we did.

Whether getting in a tutoring session before school or staying late in the classroom to help her study — these teachers were willing to do whatever it took to help our daughter get up-to-speed.

Don’t tarnish all charters

The ACLU now says some charter schools have enrollment policies that discourage certain students — including children of color like mine — from attending.

Look, I can’t speak for every family and I can’t vouch for every Arizona charter school. What I do know is our own experience. Legacy Traditional has been right for us, and we feel blessed to live in a state where families are able to make their own choices. If there are schools breaking the law, then that should be addressed.

But it is wrong to smear hundreds and hundreds of good schools based on the actions of a relative handful.

Parents need choices

There are tens of thousands of Arizona families just like mine, and probably just as many different reasons they’ve selected their own charter school.

No two children learn the same. They have unique needs, learning styles, strengths and weaknesses. As parents, the best we can do is find the right fit for our children — and our chances of success are better if we have a full menu of quality schools to choose from.

As for my family, I’m thankful we found Legacy Traditional Schools. More than that, I’m grateful my kids didn’t have to settle for a one-size-fits-all education. As parents, we have the peace of mind that they are in the right school at the right time — getting a quality education in an environment that allows them to thrive.

Read more HERE.

OPINION: Legacy Traditional students outperformed state averages
Apache Junction Independent

There has been no shortage of controversy surrounding the rollout of Arizona’s new “A-F”  letter grade accountability system for public schools.

Unfortunately, what too often gets lost in the debate about ratings formulas and metrics is real recognition for the students, teachers and schools doing great work. I’m talking about the schools that have continued to outperform – year after year – regardless of ever-changing tests, standards and measurement criteria.

There are examples of these stellar public schools all across Arizona. I’m proud to represent a dozen such schools statewide via my work as superintendent and chief academic officer for Legacy Traditional Schools. In the East Valley, each of our public, tuition-free schools in Chandler, north Chandler, Gilbert and Queen Creek received an “A” rating under Arizona’s new  letter-grade rating system. Similarly, all Legacy Traditional Schools received an A rating under the former accountability system, last issued in 2014.  Legacy Traditional Schools are joined by many other district and charter public schools that have demonstrated academic excellence on both accountability systems and the best-practices that occur in these schools should be examined further by our community.

Legacy Traditional first opened its  doors in Arizona a decade ago. Since then, we’ve grown from a single, 400-student campus into one of Arizona’s largest, fastest-growing and highest-performing networks of K-8 public schools – serving approximately 13,500 students across a dozen campuses statewide. In fall 2018, Legacy will  be opening two additional K-8 campuses – including one in east Mesa near East Guadalupe Road and South Signal Butte Road.

This kind of growth is only possible thanks to strong community demand for what our schools offer. That starts with strong academics – nine of our campuses earned an “A” grade on AzMERIT and three earned a “B.” As a network, Legacy Traditional students outperformed state averages in English Language Arts and Mathematics in all grades by double digits.

These letter grades are validation of the efforts of our teachers and administrators, but they’re just a part of what makes Legacy Traditional special. Our public schools feature expert instructors who are empowered to do what they do best: teach. We provide students a safe, structured environment in which to learn, and ask that parents and families be active participants in their children’s education. Our curriculum is well-rounded and advanced, and each of our campuses emphasizes the arts, physical education and a full menu of athletic and extracurricular activities.

Finally, we know some of the most important lessons can’t be found in any textbook. That’s why, at Legacy Traditional, we place  a strong emphasis on building character among our students. They learn to respect themselves and others, and to love this country we all share. Call it old-fashioned, but our students still begin every day by saluting the American flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

State assessment tests may come and go, but these values are timeless. If there’s one thing that won’t change, it’s our commitment to helping students succeed – both inside and outside of the classroom.

That’s the Legacy Traditional way.

Bill Bressler
Superintendent and chief academic officer
Legacy Traditional Schools

Read more HERE.

Walmart 'elves' surprise needy Phoenix students with gifts, party with Santa, Coke bear
Arizona Republic

ShaVonne Louis hadn't planned on doing Christmas this year.

The mother of eight left work earlier than planned because she had a baby prematurely. Times were tough, and she needed to pay rent.

So when she brought one of her sons to Alhambra Elementary School District's Family Resource Center on Friday, expectations were low.

Little did she and 49 other families know that Walmart had teamed up with the Family Resource Center to spread holiday cheer to the most in-need children in the district.

Families arrived to the center near 35th and Glendale avenues to find a celebration with gifts, treats and a visit from Santa and his helpers.

[...] Walmart "elves" passed out Walmart gift cards to parents and wrapped presents to children, resulting in smiling faces and cheerful spirits.

The remainder of the time was spent enjoying refreshments and socializing with Santa, the Arizona Cardinals mascot and cheerleaders, and the Coca-Cola polar bear.

In addition to treating the children and their families, Walmart surprised Alhambra's Family Resource Center with a $10,000 grant.

[...] Read more HERE.

Walmart goes high-tech for the holidays
3TV gets up-close look at how Walmart is saving customers time, money this holiday season


Watch Video HERE.