Arizona places a high importance on learning from early education through post-secondary education.  Local college and university graduates keep the economy flourishing.  Arizona recognizes the value of a globally competitive education and strives to keep its best and brightest students in the state.  To that end Arizona has recently introduced programs to keep students engaged and active during summer breaks.   It is clear that education in Phoenix Arizona is taken seriously.

Arizona continues to be a rich environment for its students to grow learn and thrive.  In 1983 The Arizona Educational Foundation began working with schools in order to reinforce educational standards and design a challenging and stimulating environment.  The Arizona Education Association offers discounted continuing education for teachers to help enhance the education of their students.  Educational development has a number of allies in The Grand Canyon State and Arizona legislators are consistently introducing new legislation to improve learning facilities and create new programs for students.  The Education Coalition of Arizona strives to improve parental and community involvement within schools and generate tax revenue for educational purpose

Education is a central component when it comes to attracting new residents and Phoenix takes this seriously.   Phoenix has more than 200 public school districts, over 400 charter and private schools that serve students from kindergarten through 12th grade.   The Valley of the Sun is home to Mesa Public Schools the largest school district in the state.  Serving the cities of Mesa Tempe and Chandler the district serves some 69000 students in traditional grades K-12 as well as alternative schools.

The Arizona Department of Education announced that Arizona students again performed above the national average on the College Board’s SAT college readiness examination during the 2016-2017 school year. This year’s performance of Arizona’s students marks a six-year upward trend. Arizona students scored 563 in reading and writing and 553 in math.

Committed to education

No matter where you’re moving and or if you have children, education is an important consideration for anyone considering relocation. The quality of education in a community affects everything from resale value to the schools in your neighborhood.  With the area’s tremendous growth over the last several years school districts have increased accordingly to accommodate more students. The city has adopted several initiatives to foster educational excellence.  For example, the Youth and Education Commission which in partnership with the Human Relations Commission offers grants to Phoenix schools through its Focus on Results grants initiative.

The mayor and Phoenix city council support the Phoenix Youth and Teen Services to fund the programs and activities that provide activities for teens. The city has also created The Dropout Prevention Program working with national state and local organizations.  This program encourages kids to stay in school, pursue post-secondary education or careers and provide after-school activities.

Higher education opportunities

Phoenix is also known for its higher education opportunities. Area colleges and universities include Arizona State University, University of Phoenix , Argosy University, Maricopa Community Colleges/Phoenix College,  Grand Canyon University,  Western International University and the internationally renowned Thunderbird – The Garvin School of International Management. Arizona State University has over 300 undergraduate and more than 250 masters and graduate degree programs in 16 colleges and schools. One of the largest research-heavy institutions in the U.S. Arizona State University annually devotes over $385 million in research and development expenditures.

Maricopa Community Colleges network features 12 colleges that specialize in university transfer continuing education career and job training programs. Phoenix College the system’s main campus is nationally known for its programs in gerontology dental hygiene fire science emergency medical technology mathematics art graphic design creative writing and administration of justice.  Recent research comparing Arizona to states of similar size found that Arizona ranked second for average Arizona student test scores on the ACT college entrance exam and that Arizona is also ranked second among states of similar size for the number of bachelor’s degrees in natural sciences and engineering