Education is the surest path to greater individual success and one of the most important investments an individual – or our state – can make. Study after study confirms this. Those with more education, especially a college degree, do better economically with higher wages and less unemployment, and they have a higher quality of life, including longer life expectancy and better health.

Recognizing the crucial need to increase educational attainment in our state, Gov. Doug Ducey and education and business leaders have endorsed a goal to increase the number of Arizona citizens with a certificate or degree after high school to 60 percent by 2030. 

Yet, ensuring every student has access to a quality education is one of the great challenges of our time. Consider this: In Arizona, college going and completion remains uneven and continues to trail the national average, according the Arizona Board of Regents . Only half (approximately 52 percent) of Arizona’s 2018 high school graduates enrolled in a two or four-year degree granting institution within one year of graduation, as compared with just over 69 percent of their peers nationwide. In the most recent year for which we have data, 46 of Arizona’s 515 high schools did not send anyone to a two-year or four-year college upon graduation. And, 110 of Arizona’s high schools saw no graduate enter a four-year college one year after graduation.  

Of the many factors necessary to solve the equation to increase educational attainment, ensuring we have great schools is foundational, which requires strong principals and qualified teachers.

This has always been true, but never more so than during this time of pandemic-caused disruption and uncertainty. Schools must adapt to an ever-changing education landscape and ensure students receive instruction with the least interruption possible.

That’s why we’re so grateful for the work of Gov. Ducey, Regent Fred DuVal, the Hunt Institute and the. As part of the recent summit, they helped bring together education experts to discuss leadership best practices and provide executive training to current and aspiring principals and district leaders across the state.

The is a great example of how we are supporting school leadership in Arizona. This innovative program provides professional development across the state for school and district leaders at every level of experience. A key objective is to help Arizona attract, train and retain more of the leaders we need to help ensure students graduate prepared for college or career. Gov. Ducey has generously allocated $700,000 from the federal CARES Act to expand the academy and serve more schools.

The is another example of how Arizona is beating the odds for school success by addressing teacher shortages. The academy offers a year-for-year tuition waiver scholarship for students who commit to teach in Arizona public schools. The three public universities and select community colleges operate a unique academy offering undergraduate and graduate students an opportunity to earn their teaching degree tuition free. To date, more than 800 students have completed a program.

There remains a lot of work to do. But through innovative programs like Beat the Odds and the Arizona Teachers Academy, we are making real progress in ensuring great schools have great leaders and teachers. The results are better outcomes for all student learners in every community.

That’s something we can all celebrate.

ABOR Chair Larry Edward Penley also is a fellow of the Center for the Future of Arizona.

Superintendent JoEtta Gonzales, a recent participant of the Center for the Future of Arizona’s Beat the Odds Leadership Academy, also serves on the Boards of the Arizona School Administrators Association and the Arizona Association of Latino Administrators. This year, she was honored with the ASA Distinguished Superintendent Award.

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The first-ever Regents’ Cup, a new debate competition created by the Arizona Board of Regents in partnership with Arizona’s public universities, took place Saturday at the University of Arizona.

The unique competition celebrates free speech, civil discourse and democratic engagement among university students, according to ABOR. It features various rounds of discussion, solutions, persuasive storytelling and Oxford-style debate.

“The Regents’ Cup was an inspiring event with student teams exhibiting exceptional debate skills during the competition, a series of debates characterized by respect for one another and civil discourse,” said Regent Karrin Taylor Robson.

Robson was instrumental in envisioning and supporting the event, according to ABOR.

“Our universities are exemplars of free speech,” said ABOR Chair Larry E. Penley. “The Regents’ Cup competition provides students with an opportunity to hone debate skills that are characterized by civil discourse and reasoned argument, attributes that will serve them well throughout life.”

Arizona State University, UArizona and Northern Arizona University have all earned the highest rating for free speech from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, called the “green light.”

NAU earned the designation from FIRE earlier this year after , becoming just the 48th institution in the United States to do so.

“This first-of-its-kind competition will feature reasoned debate during an era when free-speech issues on college campuses are at the forefront of the national conversation,” ABOR said in a statement.

“This inaugural event was a testament to our commitment to free speech on our college campuses, and I am proud of all of our students, judges, coaches, fellow regents, university presidents and staff members who made the Regents’ Cup a success,” Robson said.

The 2019 Regents’ Cup focused on civil discourse and freedom of speech; specific issues included libel, slander, defamation laws and social media. Participating students earned course credit while competing for scholarships at the event.

“The Regents’ Cup competition will demonstrate students’ debate skills while exposing the teams to diverse thoughts and beliefs,” said ABOR Executive Director John Arnold before the event. “We hope they take away from this experience an expanded worldview as well as empathy and respect for competitors.”

Winning teams receive scholarship money to apply toward their university education, and all participating students can receive either an internship or course credit for their work, according to ABOR. Judges for the event included legislators, sitting judges, faculty, regents, student leaders, community leaders and administrators.

ASU undergraduates Valielza O’Keefe, a physics major, and Joshua Pardhe, a computer systems engineering major, took home the inaugural Regents’ Cup, according to .

The winners of the 2019 Regents’ Cup are Joshua Pardhe and Valielza O’Keefe from !

— Arizona Board of Regents (@AZRegents)

“The Regents’ Cup is really a way to celebrate free speech and civil dialogue,” Bonnie Wentzel, director of ASU’s Communication Lab, told ASU Now before the event. “People give that lip service all the time, but it’s something we practice every day as part of being inclusive. You have to be willing to listen to another perspective or opinion besides your own.”

The 2019 Regents’ Cup took place Saturday at McClelland Hall on UArizona’s Tucson campus. to learn more.

Header photo of student participants at the 2019 Regents’ Cup courtesy of the Arizona Board of Regents.

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