KEEPING ARIZONA SAFE, STRONG AND PROSPEROUS
Education Overview
Governor Napolitano believes that investing in education is the single most valuable thing we can do to protect the future of our children and to grow a healthy, cutting-edge economy. Although parents are the best predictor of a child's success, we know that nothing is more likely to ensure success in education than an excellent teacher. Today, Governor Napolitano called on the Legislature to do four things: ? Expand voluntary all-day kindergarten, and make it available statewide this year ? Give a pay raise to every teacher in the state, so that teachers are paid a competitive salary and eliminate pay disparities that exacerbate the teacher shortages in rural, small and poor districts ? Provide professional development to retain quality teachers in the classroom and accelerate the effectiveness of new teachers ? Support increased funding for our community colleges and universities, including increased student aid Governor Napolitano's 2006 Elementary/Secondary Education Initiatives: ? Expand voluntary full-day kindergarten to all school districts and charter schools ? Increase teacher minimum base annual salary in all Arizona school districts to $30,000 ? Increase base pay of all school district teachers ? Provide planning grants to implement professional development programs, and align all systems of performance pay, pay-for-performance programs, and the Master Teacher program Governor Napolitano's 2006 Higher Education Initiatives: ? Make higher education more accessible by providing more financial aid to more students ? Develop performance incentives that graduate students faster and more affordably, particularly in Arizona's high-demand occupations. ? Enable universities to compete across the globe by attracting and retaining world-class faculty and researchers ? Provide resources to train more qualified workers in allied health professions that all communities in Arizona critically need ? Provide individual counseling and support services for new students to ensure they remain in college and obtain a degree
Governor Janet Napolitano 2006 State of the State Address January 9, 2006
