t c communiqué125geoalliance.asu.edu/sites/default/files/tcfiles/t c... · • in july, a tc focus...
TRANSCRIPT
T C Communiqué The Newsletter for AzGA TCs Number 125 April 20, 2011 Coordinator’s Corner Keeping the flame alive It may seem that these are dark times for geography K-12 education in Arizona. Funding levels are declining. Teachers are fearful over reductions in forces. Administrators seem possessed by test scores. A desire to understand the richness of skills and content geography education provides often falls on myopic mentalities. But despite such depressing realities, there are reasons for optimism. First and foremost, there exists a desire on the part of educators to teach geography. There is YOU! You know the importance of teaching your students about other people and other places. This was in evidence at the annual conference of AzGA Teacher Consultants, where dozens turned out to engage in a strategic planning exercise to plan for a dynamic and exciting future for Arizona's geography education. As long as you have this desire, the future of geography education remains strong. You know that your Arizona Geographic Alliance will do what it can to support you -- whether providing lessons that integrate geography with the "tested" subjects, providing free maps, or providing advanced training in the form of conferences and graduate courses. Second, geography has never been stronger as an academic discipline. ASU, NAU and UofA all have strong geography units. Community colleges have great instructors. Even in this weak job market, demand for geospatial skills remains strong (especially if our majors are willing to take jobs away from Arizona). Geography's relevance and importance continues to increase at the university level, and we hope that you will be able to access your local geography professional when it comes to career day. Third, geography continues to permeate our technologically oriented culture. Google Earth is one of the most amazing teaching resources. GPS units are found in just about every mobile device, and students can download apps so that they can "see" their routes mapped on Google and other software. As these tools continue to be used by your students, such knowledge of geography can enrich all of our teaching moments. Lastly, despite budget cuts and other pressures, your Arizona Geographic Alliance remains. We are a stubborn group, and we will do what we can to help. Thank you for helping keep alive the future by teaching geography. Sincerely, Ron Dorn Professor of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning Co-coordinator of your Arizona Geographic Alliance
Arizona Geographic Alliance 480-965-5361 Arizona State University 480-965-8313 fax School of Geographical Sciences & Urban Planning P O Box 875302 Tempe, AZ 85287-5302 http://alliance.la.asu.edu/azga/ 976 S Forest Mall, Coor Bldg, Fifth Floor, Room 5677
Minutes - Annual Business Meeting Arizona History Museum, Tucson
Saturday, April 9, 2011 – 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am by Gale Ekiss. Gale explained that this meeting would be in a different format from previous AzGA T C Spring Conference meetings as we are fulfilling our obligations under the latest NGSEF grant to develop a strategic plan to build AzGA capacity to meet the future. The meeting would be devoted to considering the question:
How to renew AzGA to ensure its vitality and sustainability? Gale reviewed work for this project that has been started:
• A planning team was developed consisting of Gale Ekiss, Ron Dorn, Mike Ostapuk, Tricia Hutchinson and Cathy Davis. This team attended a week long strategic planning training conducted by National Geographic in June 2010.
• In July, A TC Focus Group updated the Mission Statement of AzGA. The team members were Carole Ambroziak, Gale Ekiss, John Halverson, Karen Guerrero, Robert Mings, Sheila Nice, Noel Normington, Michael Ostapuk, Dennis Rees, Cheryl Stegall, Christina Valenzuela, Sarah Jenkins, Malcolm Comeaux and Cathy Davis.
• Next, A Question Pro survey on the product of the Focus Group was sent to the T C Membership. Approximately 60 people opened the survey, 45 completed the survey, 99% agreed with all the questions and the changes that were suggested were minimal principally consisting of word smithing.
• In February, Donna Campbell was hired as our consultant to help us through the strategic planning process.
• In March, Dennis Rees was added to the planning team as it is difficult for Tricia to make it to the ASU based meetings plus we felt we needed additional input.
Donna Campbell was introduced and she conducted the meeting. Donna comes to AzGA from the Arizona Department of Education where she is the Director of Professional Development. Previous to ADE, she worked as the Manager of Quality Teaching and Learning for the Arizona Education Association. Her professional background includes capacity building training and a broad understanding of Arizona’s educational systems. She has developed and maintained partnerships and participated in grant writing opportunities. NOTE: The following documents that were used during the meeting or resulted from the meeting are appended
o HistoMap o AzGA Mission Statement o AzGA Organization Chart o AzGA Funding - Comparison between sources,
Comparison of funding by year o Current Realities o Our Practical Vision: What fulfilling our Mission looks like o AzGA 90-Day Action Plans
Donna Campbell and Gale Ekiss
The Histomap document that resulted from what people posted during the on-line Wall Wisher exercise was introduced and discussed. The TCs were divided into groups based on Summer Institute date and reflected on what brought them to the Alliance and what kept them active.
Why we’re involved in AZGA 92-95 2001-07
PASSION TRAVEL DEDICATION EDUCATION (DEGREES) ENTHUSIAMS RECERTIFICATION NETWORKING ADVENTURE IDEAS OPPORTUNITY OPPORTUNITIES SHARED VISION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 2008-present TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GEOGRAPHY INTEREST MENTORS NGS CONNECTION GRANTS NETWORKING MAPS NEED
96-00 SELF-FULFILLING NETWORKING FELLOWSHIPS LEARNING TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES FUN GEOGRAPHY LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES CAMARADERIE GROWTH FUN The members then considered the question, based on the Mission Statement that came out of the Summer Focus Group work: What do we want to see in place in 3-5 years as a result of our purposeful actions to fulfill our mission? Current realities were introduced for the TCs to consider -- the AzGA organization chart and charts showing comparison income figures were shared -- and the participants created a board (using brightly colored sticky notes) of what a practical vision might be to fulfill the AzGA Mission.
At noon a buffet lunch was served. Mr. Jose Miranda, standing in for Congressman Grijalva, delivered a short address to the assembly supporting social studies and geographic education in particular.
After lunch, based on the previous work, the group selected the most important projects for the organization to work on in the near future. These were:
1. Functioning Web Site 2. Align Legacy Project to Common Core Standards 3. 50% of Arizona school districts will have an approved link to AzGA on their district
websites 4. Recruit pre-service and in-service teacher to AzGA (increase net members by 2%) (60
members) 5. Improved finances 6. Recruit college instructors to be AzGA Fellow & Geographic Ed. Mentors to their
students The assembly self-selected into groups based on the project they were most interested in supporting and a 90 day Action Plan was developed. Ken de Masi was presented with a 10-year service Certificate of Appreciation.
The meeting was adjourned and the members were free to explore the exhibits at the Arizona Historical Museum. After the Museum closed, many members met informally at a local restaurant to socialize.
Ken de Masi and Malcolm Comeaux ‐ class of 2001
Sunday, April 10 Members were invited to visit the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum with their families (with AzGA assuming the entrance fee). A Museum representative explained some of the outreach available to the educators and then the members were free to explore the Museum including the last Raptor Free Flight of the season.
April, May, June and July
The Next Steps Teams will report to their Contacts as they complete their assigned task within their groups. Team members are listed on the AzGA 90-Day Action Plans form. April 21 Planning Team will meet at Coor and debrief re TC Spring Conference (done) May 17 5:00 pm - Conference call to Team Contacts* June 9 5:00 pm - Conference call to Team Contacts* July 9 Meeting of all TCs working on the Strategic Plan who can attend ASU MU Mohave room (details to follow in a later T C Communiqué) Please mark your calendars and participate in the July 9th meeting. The location will be ASU, Tempe. You might organize carpooling to the event. If you did or did not attend the April Annual Business Meeting, you are not too late to help. All hands and hearts are needed in developing this Strategic Plan for AzGA. *A notice to the Team Contacts will be sent before May 17 detailing how the conference call will work.
Reports: AzGA Activities for 2010-2011
Small Grant Committee
The Small Grant Committee has approved several grants this year:
• Karen Guerrero ($200) to buy materials that would support curriculum on submarine sciences and preservation of water in AZ.
• Tricia Hutchinson ($200) to buy classroom set of Tasting the Sky to read while studying the Middle East.
• Rick Byers ($175) to buy several stopwatches for timing water quality experiments done by students in a field study. The photo is of his students using the stopwatches purchased with AzGA money.
Grants are given on a July to July basis. TCs serving as this year’s Small Grant Committee are Kelly Graham and Jane Chambers. Thanks go to both of them for their timely help in evaluating the proposals. We need 2 volunteers for July 2011 to July 2012. If you wish to volunteer, let Gale know at [email protected]. Product Evaluation Committee
Germaine Barnes and Cheryl Wiens are serving on the Product Evaluation Committee. When publishers or manufacturers want AzGA to comment on its product, we send the sample materials to the committee members. They must write up their answers to these questions:
• Is this product tied to geography standards? If yes, are they state or national geography standards?
• Is the product tied to other standards (math, reading, etc.)? • Is the product geographically sound? • Does the product use sound teaching methods for the grade levels specified? • Is the product teacher/classroom friendly? • Is the product worth the price?
Based on the committee’s comments, we will decide on our support of the product. While we have had no requests to evaluate a product this year, thanks go to both of them for volunteering to serve on this committee. We need 2 volunteers for July 2011 to July 2012. If you wish to volunteer, let Gale know at [email protected] Friends of AzGA Award Committee
If you attended the Annual Business Meeting in Tucson, you listened to a short talk given by Jose Miranda as a representative from the office of Congressman Raul Grijalva. Jose was there in Grijalva’s behalf as part of our celebration of Friend of AzGA for 2010.
The other Friends of AzGA for 2010 were Representatives Ed Pastor, Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords. These Representatives were selected by the Committee for this award because of their continued support of TGIF (Teaching Geography is Fundamental) bill. We are still hopeful that TGIF will be passed in this legislative session and provide dedicated funding for geography education much like there is funding for American history, economics, and government. The Friends of AzGA Committee for this year are Ken de Masi and Jeannine Kuropatkin. We need 2 volunteers for July 2011 to July 2012. If you wish to volunteer, let Gale know at [email protected].
Nominations are also needed for our 2011 Awards. The criteria are: 1. Eligibility – anyone who is outside the normal AzGA family may be nominated. The “normal” AzGA family is defined as K-12 classroom teachers, librarians, AzGA staff, and instructional aides. Thus, nominees may be part of non-teaching district levels (administration, support personnel, governing board), professors, vendors, parent volunteers, or members of the community at large. 2. Number given annually – no limit 3. Nomination qualification – Someone who has shown a consistent pattern of active, willing, and gracious support for AzGA goals and activities over several years, or a burst of extraordinary support within one year. 4. Timelines – a. Nominations can be made at any time during the calendar year. b. Awards are presented at GeoFest or TC Annual Business Meeting. c. Selection committee – makes determination of awardees within 6 weeks before the event. d. Awardees are notified prior to the event and offered the chance to receive the award in person. Advocacy for Geography Education Legislation
Gale Ekiss and Cathy Davis have been visiting Arizona legislators to gain continued and additional support for TGIF. In March, they visited the Washington offices of Senator John McCain and Representative Grijalva. In April, they dropped off information at the Tucson office of Representative Gabrielle Giffords with hopes that her education liaison would look over and recommend support of TGIF. Cathy and Gale also visited the Phoenix office of Representative Ed Pastor and had a nice visit with his District Director, Elise de la Vara in February. This advocacy for geography education is best done by every TC. If you want materials or coaching on how to approach policy makers, please ask. Cathy and Gale can even give a 2-hour workshop! Contact Cathy for materials or training - [email protected] State Level National Geographic Bee
The State Bee Competition took place Friday, April 1, at ASU in the Memorial Union. TC Beckie Seybert, as the Bee Coordinator, officiated. Her website is http://www.quia.com/pages/azcoordinator.html. The final round was moderated by Chris Dunn of KPHO. Volunteers were solicited from the ASU geography group by Gale Ekiss, Barbara Trapido-Lurie, and Ron Dorn for the Bee and for the Reception that followed. Because of the AzGA connection the Bee was able to use the ASU facilities at no charge.
The finalists were:
Winner: Luke Hellum Sunrise Middle School, Scottsdale 2. Raghav Ranga St. Gregory College Prep, Tucson 3. Arun Yadav Sierra Verde School, Glendale 4. Meredith Young Flagstaff Home Educators, Flagstaff 5. Donald Zyriek Kyrene Middle School, Tempe 6. Kaitlin Coltin Saints Simon & Jude School, Phoenix 7. Derek Bischoff Basis Tucson Middle School, Tucson 8. Liban Mohamed Carminati Elementary, Tempe 9. Teddy Horowitz Pima County Home Educators, Tucson 10. Ronald Desouza Wilson K-8 School, Tucson
After the Bee, the Alliance, in partnership with the School of Geographical Sciences & Urban Planning, hosted a Reception for the Bee competitors, their families and teachers. Thanks to Barbara Trapido-Lurie Geo-activities and game tables were organized for the visitors. Scott Barry reserved the Geo-lab for the grad students Ron Dorn recruited for a GIS hands on demonstration for the students. Cookies and punch were provided.
Additional pictures of the event are up on the AzGA Facebook page.
Geography Awareness Week 2010 Freshwater and Oceania - Kelli Jones was the GAW Coordinator for the GAW Freshwater theme. Jeannine Kuropatkin was the GA Coordinator for Oceania. Both attended on-line training and material sessions from NGS as well as the events at NCGE in Savannah. Besides the events they organized, AzGA requested and received a GAW Proclamation from the Governor, partnered with Salt River Project on two Water
Academies, included Oceania and Freshwater strands at GeoConference and distributed information and materials on these two subjects during the year. Geography Awareness Week 2011
The 2011 Geography Awareness Week theme: Discovering Geography Through Community Exploration - November 13-19, 2011. Alliance Coordinators are being asked to select 2 or more people in each state to serve as GAW coordinators. Timeline: Phase 1 - website will be completed in June for sharing at summer workshops. Online resources and print materials will be completed in August in time for back to school mailings and workshops. AzGA Central has been considering that a GIS / Community Mapping project might be a focus for Arizona. If you are interested in volunteering as a GAW Coordinator, please contact [email protected]
An updated T C Directory can be found at this address: http://alliance.la.asu.edu/tcdirectory/TC_Directory_Table.pdf
Arizon
a Geograph
ic Allian
ce Histom
ap/Wall of W
onder
I was aw
are of/involved with
AzG
A in the follow
ing ways
during 1992 through 1995:
I was aw
are of/involved with
AzG
A in the follow
ing ways
during 1996 through 2000:
I was aw
are of/involved with
AzG
A in the follow
ing ways
during 2001 through 2007:
I was aw
are of/involved with
AzG
A in the follow
ing ways
from 2008 to N
OW:
I want to be involved w
ith AzG
A from
NOW on
in the follow
ing ways:
Donna I knew
that Mike O
. was organizing a geography‐
focused organization
Dennis In 1996 I w
as the Head Resident TC at the
summer institute. In 1997 I
went on the first G
eoDay Trip.
Donna I learned that M
ike O. w
as still involved in AzG
A.
Donna becam
e a planning consultant to A
zGA
Tricia I plan to stay involved. Who ELSE is going to support
Geog if A
ZGA doesn't?
Besides, there are some near
and dear friendships within.
Gale I w
as one of the 9 teachers sent to N
at Geo to
learn to be a TC in 1993. We
came back ready to build an
Alliance in A
Z. And w
hat an Alliance it becam
e!
Cheryl W. A
fortuitous event for m
e in 1997 when a fellow
staff m
ember asked m
e to take her place at the sum
mer
institute. I had no idea of the great things to com
e!
Tiffany I became a TC in the
Summer of 2003. I then used
the already‐made lesson
plans in my Kindergarten
classroom.
cdavis NGSEF gets a new
Director. Funding form
ula changes again to Strategic Planning for the Future.
Halvey A
zGA com
mitted their
resources to me and I intend
to promote the A
lliance and their goals for geographic education.
M. Coyotl I attended a
meeting w
ith Bob and Malcolm
around 1993 where
we w
ere sort of exploring the idea of w
hat became A
zGa,
but family needs kept m
e from
following up.
M. Coyotl I w
ent through the Sum
mer Institute in 1997. I
helped lead it in 1998 and was prim
er inter pares in 1999. Virtual field trip to Russia around then, too.
cdavis NGS changes funding
formula from
Go Forth and
GeoEvangelize to D
o a Project. G
eoLiteracy is born.
cdavis GeoH
istory gets started. A
zGA wins N
CGE
Geographic Excellence in
Media A
ward for G
eoLit.
Dennis A
zGA has done so
much to m
ake me w
ho I am
today. I plan to do all I can to make it a self‐sustaining
organization.
Tricia I ran off the soccer field and rushed to A
SU to
interview with Bob and
Malcolm
, and next thing I knew
, I was training in N
ev with Beckie Seybert. That w
as '93~
Karen B Day one: 1997
Summer Institute...and it w
as good. D
ay two: 1998 G
AW
training in D.C. w
ith Dennis...
conducted first Geography
Week Fair at St. Joseph
School.
cdavis GeoLit w
orkshops galore! G
eoMath is created.
GeoLiteracy for ELLs w
as started. M
ore workshops!
Jeannine K A prim
e ex of Gale E's ability to think
outside the box: AzG
A
cosponsors the 2011 "Freshw
ater Academ
y" for Educators w
ith SRP, Project WET, &
City of Phoenix.
Cheryl W I prom
ote AzG
A to
my pre‐service teachers so
that they will becom
e TC's once they are in the field, or at least integrate geography into their lessons.
Halvey M
ike O introduced
me to A
zGA through a w
ork‐shop in Cartw
right and from
that point forward A
ZGA has
influenced, changed and developed m
y love of geography
Dennis In 1998 I w
as put in charge of the Earth To You Discovery Trunk, created a
Geography Lab at m
y school with help from
AzG
A, and w
as sent to D
.C. for GAW training
cdavis NCSS Cram
Awards
given for GeoLiteracy and
GeoM
ath! AzG
A gives free
workshops!
Diane G
Recognized with
awards from
NCG
E and ACSS.
Have given
workshops/presentations at
state and national conferences from
1996‐2011.
Gale I w
ant to win the Lotto
and endow the A
lliance. If money w
ere not the issue, how
high could the Alliance
fly???
Cdavis I joined AzG
A in July
1994. My first im
pression was
that the newly inducted TCs
had been marched through
Hell but had been w
ell fed.
Dennis A
lso in 1998 I helped represent A
zGA at the N
IE Back To School W
orkshop.
Dennis In 2002 I w
as a Star of Arizona Education (A
zGA
nominated m
e for this) and worked on the G
eoMath
Project. I won a CRA
M aw
ard for m
y Borderlands lesson.
Barbara S Attended the
Borderlands Institute where
we had a w
onderful time
traveling back and forth across the border to learn about issues on the border.
Betty Upch Still spreading
GeoEducation as Librarian at
Grand Canyon N
ational Park.
Dennis In 1994 I attended
the first AzG
A Sum
mer
Institute and the first GeoFest. W
e held our first TC Reunion w
hich evolved into the A
nnual Business Meeting.
Cdavis U S W
est awards grant
for MapPacks. M
ary Stuewe
delivers a set to nearly every school in Tucson. O
ther TCs deliver sets in their areas. W
e still have sets!
Tiffany I became a TC in the
Summer of 2003. I then used
the already‐made lesson
plans in my Kindergarten
classroom.
M. Coyotl Retired in 2008
and miss all m
y friends in AzG
A. N
o real involvement.
Jane C I would like to have
more opportunities for
learning experiences and travel provided for retired teachers.
Barbara St In 1994, I represented A
rizona at the National G
eographic Four Corners Sum
mer Institute
with teachers from
UT, CO
, NM, O
K, & W
ashington, DC
Dennis In 1999 I w
ent on the Cajun Field Study, w
orked on the G
eoLiteracy Project, and won the N
CGE D
TEI In 1999 I
went on the Cajun Field Study,
worked on w
on the NCG
E DT
Halvey Trained by A
zGA to
create lessons for both GeoLit
and GeoM
ath, created and went forth and proselytized
for geographic education
Dennis In 2008 I w
orked on the G
eoHistory Project. In
2010 one of my G
eoLit lessons w
as published in The Geography Teacher thanks to
Liz Hinde.
Judy Although I am
retired and involved in other groups I want to continue to help
AZG
A where and w
hen I can.
Dennis In 1995 I w
as a Resident TC at the sum
mer
institute. AzG
A also send m
e to San Francisco for training in the N
ational Standards.
Cheryl W A
dvanced Institute 1999 to Central Europe: 7 other TC's and I got to accom
pany Malcolm
through European cem
eteries, trains, and any high place w
ith a view
.
M. Coyotl Posted lessons on
the lesson bank and for Geo‐
Lit and Geo‐M
ath. Brought those to m
y school as in‐services.
Cheryl W G
eoHistory 2008
Gale I am
always looking for
a new way to m
ake AzG
A
"shine." And there are m
any opportunities out there. I want to do everything!
Barb Wms I think it w
as 1995 that I w
ent through boot cam
p... and found amazing
doors that opened after that ...
Diane G
Advanced Sum
mer
Institute in '99 changed the direction of m
y life.
Barbara S Wrote and
recorded lessons for GeoLiteracy and G
eo Math
Dennis In 2011 I w
as part of a team
that met w
ith Gil
Grosvenor to discuss A
zGA.
Cguice ...attending AZG
A
events, spreading the word,
sharing resources
Heather R I w
as at my first
ACSS conference, and M
ike Ostapuk told m
e all about AZG
A. I w
as immediately
excited about attending the institute and did so the next sum
mer!
Dennis In 2000 I w
on the Isadore Starr A
ward (A
zGA
nominated m
e for it) and went on the Borderlands
Advanced Sum
mer Institute.
Barb Wms D
uring this time I
got hooked on the idea of AP
HG... w
ent off for two
summers at U
tah State to learn the stuff. Then to Oregon. Couldn't get
enough!
Diane G
The dream of a M
A
in Geography Education
finally realized through Dr.
Dorn's hard w
ork in '09. Continuing m
y work in
promoting geo. ed.
Patty AzG
A is the BEST
alliance in the country! Go to
NCG
E and see ‐ that's a FACT!
I will continue to prom
ote geographic education in our state and support A
zGA!
Barb W
ms I got to be a
resident TC twice in this tim
e fram
e... met am
azing people.
Dennis In 2006 I w
ent on the Mam
moth Lakes Sum
mer
Institute. In 2007 I was
Marge A
ZGA helps m
e think about the w
orld we live in
and the future of it.
Danna Share geography
education with new
teachers
named a G
rosvenor Teacher Fellow
ship winner (A
zGA
nominated m
e for this).
Gale : It w
as always exciting
to see new teachers join the
Alliance and som
e select to go through sum
mer institutes.
Cheryl W Resident TC
summer 2007.
Marge Enjoyed Borderlands,
GeoH
istory and many other
classes with A
ZGA. Love to
get together with TCs and so
does my husband.
cdavis form, or re‐form
, institutional partnerships that integrate geographic concepts into their program
s as enthusiastically as any TC would
Mallory June 2000 Sum
mer
Institute. July 2000 Borders Institute. W
hat a whirlw
ind! I continue to share and use resources from
AzG
A since I
moved to O
regon.
Cheryl W I participated in
GeoLit and G
eoMath (and I
have such an aversion to math!)
Jane C The training I received to w
rite lessons, evaluate lessons, assess lessons, and present lessons w
as invaluable w
hen I was
teaching and now as a retired
person.
cdavis continue to develop PD
and materials for A
rizona teachers that are applicable across the country
Patty A
zGA Sum
mer Institute
1996 ‐ (the Forgotten institute at the 10th year reunion!). Barb Soto w
as a fantastic m
entor and Jeannine w
as a dynamite
roommate!
Patty Was N
GS‐G
A
Coordinator 2003‐2004. It was an honor to represent
Arizona at N
GS and
encourage educators to spread geographic education with students!
CGuice Sum
mer Institute
2009 ‐ awesom
e experience. AZG
A has been the best
professional organization I've ever been connected w
ith ‐ outstanding people and resource
cdavis continue to add outstanding educators to the TC cadre
Patty A
zGA Borderlands
Institute was an incredible
geographic roadtrip between
the US/M
exico. Very educational and FU
N!
Patty GeoLiteracy &
GeoM
ath ‐ love those lessons! G
reat way to
integrate subjects with
geography! Kudos to all involved!
Danna M
AS‐G
E "Finally a subject I w
anted to study for my m
asters!"
Patty A
ASG
I Technology (Eriditio Project) peaked m
y interest in using geo‐technology.
Keith W A
ZGA introduced m
e to w
onderful ways to integrate
geography with econom
ics in all my lesson plans. Invaluable
experiences followed in so m
any ways!
Patty GPS training in U
tah ‐ now
practice GPS geocaching
with students!
Heather R A
dvanced Summer
Institute to Europe with M
alcolm
as our fearless leader. It was
one of the greatest experiences of m
y life.
The AzG
A M
ission Statem
ent Results from
the July 27, 2010 fourteen mem
ber T C Focus G
roup*
4. We a
dvance student
achievement in geography
through collabora
tive partnerships.
Arizona G
eographic Alliance:
the advocate for a geographically literate society
3. We encoura
ge a culture that
uniquely b
rings out the creativity, passion, and
excitement in
teaching geogra
phy.
1. We are a statew
ide organization d
edicated
to the d
evelopment a
nd prom
otion of geographic aw
areness.
2. We provide qua
lity ed
ucational resources and
relevant professional d
evelopment opportunities.
Notes from
the Focus Group - July 27, 2010
Policy •
Invisible to state legisla
ture •
Need
nam
e recognition •
Partnerships’ •
Influence AC
SS •
Ca
rol W
• C
hange in Super and legislature
• Tim
ing is now
Leadership •
Gra
ying TCs/lead
ership team
• Institutes
• List serve com
munications
• Strong central office
• D
iverse group-expertise, geographically, gra
de level, ad
min, college
• A
ll volunteers or part tim
e •
2/3 TCs inactive
• inclusive culture
• A
SU supp
ort Teacher •
Excellent PD
• Institutes
• G
eoFest •
Online training
• Reach out to new
teachers •
Do w
e change teachers?
• Tra
ining individ
ual teachers a
nd not long term
com
mitm
ents
Resources •
Gra
nt opportunity
• M
ostly Phx based
•
Website (lessons, m
aps, videos, tutorials)
• D
issemination is key
• List serve com
munication
• W
ebsite not ad
equate
• G
reat at partnering (ask works)
• Fund
raising is not fun
• A
SU supp
ort •
Others w
ant to piggyback on our reputation
Student Achievem
ent G
eoLit/GeoM
ath—
research b
y Liz W
orkshop Evaluations Tea
cher training filters to #
students im
pacted N
ot directly ad
dressed
N
o state test O
ut Liers •
Com
munication -- irregular in tim
ing and
content •
Data b
ases are up to date •
Survey needed
• N
o formal PR
• W
iifm (W
hat’s in it for m
e?)
Focus G
roup C
arole A
mbriziak
Gale
Ekiss
John H
alverson K
aren G
uerrero R
obert M
ings S
heila N
ice N
oel N
ormington
Michael
Ostapuk
Dennis
Rees
Cheryl
Stegall
Christina
Valenzuela
Sarah
Jenkins M
alcolm
Com
eaux
Cathy Davis ‐Staff
Bob Mings ‐Coord. Em
eritusMalcolm
Comeaux ‐ Coord Em
eritus
Ron Dorn ‐Coordinator
Gale Ekiss ‐ Coordinator A
zGA
School of Geographical
Sciences & Urban Plng
Arizona State U
niversity
College of Liberal Arts &
Sciences
Steering Committee
Arizona D
ept of Education
Teacher Consultants
NGSEF
NGS GA / G
AW
Coordinator(s) Sm
all Grants
Product EvaluationFriends of A
zGA
Advocacy (PA
C)
MWW Coordinator
(sunsetting)
general mem
bers
NGS N
ational Geographic Bee
NG Live!,
Giant M
ap
Presentation Team
s
Barbara Trapido LurieBecky Eden Other G
eoDept Personnel
Special GeoEducation
Initiatives (Jason, M
arco Polo, GeoH
istoGram
s, etc.
Planning Committee ‐ G
ale Ekiss, Mike O
stapuk, Dennis Rees, Tricia
Hutchinson, Cathy D
avis, Ron Dorn
Current Reality
Experience Loyalty Enthusiasm
D
ependability K
nowledge
Relationships
Leadership Training Presentation skills N
etworking
Fore-sighting C
reative minds
Diverse
Ow
nership Steering C
omm
ittee STR
EN
GT
HS
Good notoriety
Geo-Literate society
Prepare future generations V
iability Support and sufficient resources M
ore travel opportunity M
ore networking
Enhanced foreign relationships M
ore Energy R
espect O
ptimism
Q
ualified Teachers W
ell-rounded and engaged
BE
NE
FITS of R
ealizing Vision
Not enough youth
New
mem
bership needed N
ot all TC’s involved
Distance
Lack of financial resources O
ver extended N
ot enough person power at the central office
Com
petition from other organizations
Some fatigue
Steering C
omm
ittee WE
AK
NE
SSES
Com
placency H
ard work
Someone alw
ays nipping on our heels Tim
e—consum
ing B
urn-out Loss of interest C
hange Tapped out Sustaining Entitlem
ent G
etting quality people versus just numbers
Negative C
oattail Tested, thus dum
bed down
Lost in other people’s agenda D
AN
GE
RS of R
ealizing Vision
Our Practical V
ision: What fulfilling our M
ission looks like
INNOVATIV
E USE O
F TECH
NOLO
GY
NAME RECO
GNITIO
N
OUTREA
CH AND
NETW
ORKIN
G
PERFORM
ANCE
TRACKIN
G
EVIDEN
CE OF
GEO
GRA
PHIC
LITERACY
ORG
ANIZA
TIONAL
SUSTA
INABILITY
SUSTA
INABLE
FUNDING
"Innovative, user‐ friendly technology"
"We're know
n" "W
e are connected" "W
e track our perform
ance" STU
DEN
T ACH
IEVEMEN
T MEN
TOR PRO
GRA
M
"Money, M
oney"
KEEPING UP W
ITH
TECHNOLO
GY
NAME RECO
GNITIO
N
(BRANDING)
LOCA
L AND
COMMUNITY
OUTREA
CH (RU
RAL)
PARTICIPA
NT
FEEDBA
CK STA
TEWIDE 9TH
GRA
DE W
ORLD
GEO
CU
RRICULU
M
MEN
TORS
SUSTA
INABLE A
ND
DEPEN
DABLE
FUNDING
COMMUNICA
TION
SYSTEMS
STRONG PRESEN
CE AT
DISTRICT LEVEL
EXCEPTIONAL Q
UALITY
PD
PERMANEN
T ARCH
IVE MORE IN
ADVA
NCED
GEO
GRA
PHY CLA
SSES RETEN
TION OF TCS
STABLE FU
NDING
ONLIN
E FIELD TRIPS
PROFESSIO
NAL
GRO
WTH
STA
TE‐WIDE FO
CUS/
SERVE THE EN
TIRE STA
TE
MONITO
RING AND
REPORTIN
G
PARTICIPA
TION
LARG
E NUMBER O
F STU
DEN
TS IN
GEO
GRA
PHY BEE
COMMITED
TC NETW
ORK W
ITH NEW
BLO
OD
CONSU
LTANT FEES
FOR TCS
LINKS O
N SCH
OOL
WEBSTIES TO
AZG
A
(USIN
G TECH
NOLO
GY TO
GET TH
E WORD
OUT)
VISUAL EVID
ENCE
(YOU TU
BE, CO
MMUNITY
CALEN
DAR)
OUTREA
CH TO
SCH
OOL D
ISTRICTS, UNIVERSITIES,
LEGISLA
TURES
RECOGNITIO
N OF
TALEN
TS AND SKILLS
OF TH
E TCS
SUPPO
RT COMMON
CORE W
ITH GEO
‐CU
RRICULU
M
RECRUIT N
EW
MEM
BERS FROM
ACRO
SS THE STA
TE
PROFESSIO
NAL
DEVELO
PMEN
T FEES
CURRICU
LAR
MATERIA
LS CREATED
LEVERA
GE
PARTN
ERSHIPS
FEEDBA
CK ON
OUTREA
CH FRO
M
SCHOOL D
ISTRICTS, ETC.
CREATIVE G
RAPH
ICS SH
OWING PRO
GRESS
THRU
DOCU
MEN
TATIO
N
LEGISLA
TING
REQUIRED
GEO
GRA
PHY CO
NTEN
T
TRANSITIO
N OF
LEADERSH
IP
PERMANEN
T ARCH
IVE OF A
ZGA
ACH
IEVEMEN
TS
EVERY PRESENTER
STATES M
ISSION
STATEM
ENT
PARTN
ERSHIPS
(BEYOND SO
CIAL
STUDIES)
AN EXPA
NDING
ONLIN
E BANK O
F AZG
A TC TA
LENT A
ND
DATA
STANDARD
S ALIG
NMEN
T TESTING
GRA
DUATIO
N
LINK O
UR PD
TO
RECERTIFICATIO
N
NEED
EASY, FA
ST TO USE
MAINTA
IN NATIO
NAL
PRESENCE
PROFESSIO
NAL
DEVELO
PMEN
T RECO
GNITIO
N OF
GEO
GRA
PHY A
CITIVIES GEO
GRA
PHY M
ASTERS
REINSTA
TED
TCS AS CO
NSU
LTANTS
ADVERTISE
FOCU
S ON STU
DEN
T ACH
EIVEMEN
T SH
OWING QUANTITY
OF TRA
INED
TCS GEO
GRA
PHY BO
OT
CAMP IN
TEACH
ER PREPERA
TION
INFLU
ENTIA
L ADVO
CATES
BUSIN
ESS AND
DISTRICT STEM
CO
LLABO
RATIO
N
ANNUAL TIM
E AND
TALEN
T DATA
BASE
INCREA
SED
ENRO
LLEMEN
T IN
POST‐SECO
NDARY
GEO
GRA
PHY STU
DY
INFLU
ENCE STA
TE AND GOVERN
MEN
T PO
LICY
DIRECT A
ND SPECIFIC
PRE‐SERVICE OUTREA
CH
CRED
IBILITY DOVETA
IL INFO
on HIGHLY Q
UALIFIED
INTO
CORE
1‐year Goals w
ith Priority Rank & Num
ber of “Votes” Cast
#1
47 dots Functioning, user friendly W
ebsite (i.e. lesson plans, m
aps, tem
plates, etc.)
#3 29 dots
50% of the A
Z School districts w
ill have an approved link to A
zGA
on their District
Website
4 dots
Verify number of
people linking to AzG
A
website 3 dots
TC commits to school
or district workshop
presentation
#6 16 dots
Log of AzG
A
(Activities, TC talents
and accomplishm
ents, reporting of participation, institutes, conferences)
#2 30 dots
Align Legacy project to
common core
standards for language arts
5 dots Increase the num
ber of schools participate in the geography bee by 10%
#4 27 dots
Recruit pre‐service and in‐service teachers to A
ZGA (at
least 2% increase)
#7
13 dots Recruit college instructors to be TC mentors (at least 5
new)
#5 26 dots
Investigate and Report on the Pros and Cons of instituting an A
zGA
mem
ber fee. Create a list of potential funding partners/grants. Investigate the viability of a funding partner. M
ake contact and develop relationships w
ith at least tw
o of these.
AzG
A 90‐D
ay Action Plans
1‐year G
oal &
Team M
embers W
ho Cham
pion It
By May 17, 2011
Conference call By June 9, 2011 Conference call
By July 9, 2011 In person ‐ A
SU m
eeting July 9 O
utcome
1. Functioning W
eb site Tricia H
utchinson, Heather
Moll, D
iane Godfrey, Patty
Sepp, Danna Lagerquist, Jill
Turetzky, Mike Baron
Drupal to be 100%
finished by contracted undergrad student. W
e can then start to create pages and expand.
2. Align Legacy project to
Common Core Standards
Karen Guerrero, D
ennis Rees, Beckie Seybert, D
iana Lee, Cheryl W
iens, Sheila Nice
• Update A
zGA Legacy
Project spreadsheet with
CCS columns (D
iana) •
Create CCS worksheet for
authors to use for alignm
ent (Cheryl) •
Get list of K‐2 authors &
send em
ail request (Cheryl)
• Coordinate received responses and divide rem
aining K‐2 lessons (Sheila, D
ennis, Beckie) •
Collect K‐2 CCS‐aligned lessons (Sheila by 5/30)
• Quality check of K‐2
lessons by 6/25 (Sheila, Dennis, Beckie)
• Update spreadsheet
High quality K‐2 lessons that
are aligned with CCS
A spreadsheet updated
through K‐2
3. 50%
of AZ school districts
will have an approved
link to AzG
A on their
district websites
Bob Mings, Jane Cham
bers, Noel M
cClure, Mary W
orking, Judy Phillips, Coleen O’Donnell, Kelly G
raham
• Create tem
plate (Jane, Judy)
• Schedule m
eeting with
Donna C. (N
oel) •
Create reporting system
(Kelly) & send out
for group approval •
Contact AEA
to be linked (Bob)
• Get link for legislator &
county superintendent contacts &
send to Bob &
Judy (Colleen) •
Contact IDEA
L & send to
Bob & Judy (Colleen?)
• Tem
plate is complete and
approved (Judy) •
Meet w
ith Donna (N
oel) •
Reporting system is ready
for use; record contacts & report results (Kelly)
• Reporting system
being used
Process for contact records, including results, is in use
4. Recruit pre‐service &
in‐service teachers to A
zGA
(increase net mem
bers by 2%
) Jeannine Kuropatkin, Liz Hinde, Carol Franklin, Rick
Byers Strategy: each TC recruits at least one other teacher/pre‐service student to participate in A
zGA‐sponsored activity;
become a m
ember at the
event or on Facebook
• Notify TCs of m
embership
campaign, requesting that
they make a pledge to
recruit, and enclosing a current list of upcom
ing events
• Modify event evaluation
forms to include how
they found out about the activity (TC, W
ebsite, etc.,)
• Develop Talking Points
recruitment flyer &
send rough draft to team
(Jeannine)
• Follow
up with TC’s to
remind them
of events to share w
ith their potential recruits
• Team
reviews draft and
responds to Jeannine
• Have TC’s report outcom
e of applications sent in &/or participation in a
workshop or A
zGA
activity (Donna
Campbell’s suggestion:
This may be prem
ature. Consider 1
st developing a reporting process.)
Donna Cam
pbell’s suggestion: consider stating a num
erical goal for the num
ber of TC’s from
whom
you want to
secure pledges to recruit by this date Final draft of Talking Points
5. Im
proved finances Cathy D
avis , Carol Warren,
Cynthia Shoemaker, Ken de
Masi, Barb W
illiams, M
ike Ostapuk
• Contact grant consultant in Phx re: grant‐w
riting for non‐profits (Cynthia)
• Make prelim
inary contact re: A
SU Foundation
mandates on accepting
funds (Cathy, Gale, Ron)
• Explore setting up a Website link for
donations & list of
supporters (Gale, Ron)
• Create a Q
uestion Pro survey of m
embers &
TC’s re: fees for m
embership
(Carol, Barb) •
Draft letter to legislators
& State Supt. re: w
ho we
are & soliciting donations;
maybe include “dialing
for $” brochure & NGS
summary (Ken, M
ike)
• Report to Finance Com
mittee (Cynthia)
•
Follow‐up (Cathy, G
ale, Ron)
• Analyze results (Carol,
Barb)
• Send letter
• Investigate TC &
Legis. District m
atch
• Report to Steering Com
m.
& Planning Team
(Cynthia)
• Report to Steering Com
m.
& Planning Team
(Cathy, Gale, Ron)
•
Report to Steering Comm.
& Planning Team
(Gale,
Ron)
• Make recom
mendation to
Steering Comm. &
Planning Team
• Report to Steering Com
m.
& Planning Team
•
Donna Cam
pbell’s suggestion: A
nalyze results of letter sent in June
Increased knowledge re:
grant‐making and securing
funds Increased know
ledge about seeking &
recognizing online donors Recom
mendation on
mem
ber fees Donna Cam
pbell’s suggestion: Prelim
inary analysis of how
to influence legislators
6. Keep logs ‐ see Perform
ance tracking under Practical V
ision
•
•
•
Donna Cam
pbell’s suggestion: At least 3 kinds of m
ulti‐year logs/records w
ill be displayed graphically and shared w
ith TC’s.
7. Recruit college instructors to be A
ZGA Fellow
&
Geographic Ed. M
entors to their students Liz H
inde, Kelli Jones, Rick Byers, Jeannine Kuropatkin, Carol Franklin
• Define eligibility
• Identify possible candidates
• Develop objectives for
AZG
A Fellow
s to im
plement in class
• Identify them
e a.
Grant funding
connection b.
Cross‐curricular appeal
• Discuss “internal” trial
run (AZG
A TC/College
inst.) •
Identify target date of 1st
AZG
A Fellow
s training academ
y
Donna Cam
pbell’s suggestion for July outcom
e: Readiness to recruit A
cademy
participants—or—
Readiness to develop recruitm
ent plan – or – Readiness to develop Academ
y curriculum.