Advocating for Excellence at the Capitol

It was a big day at the Arizona State Capitol as Great Hearts and other public charter schools from all over the state of Arizona gathered at Wesley Bolin Plaza for Charters at the Capitol. This annual advocacy day is one of the signature events of the Arizona Charter Schools Association, where hundreds of Arizona’s public charter school leaders, parents, and students come together to meet with their Legislators, showcase their schools, and advocate on behalf of Arizona’s charter school movement. Great Hearts representatives were there to help celebrate 30 years of the Arizona public charter school movement.

Representatives were able to walk across the street from the Capitol building to grab a boxed lunch and meet with school representatives to learn more about the many options that charter schools can provide.  Arizona State Superintendent Tom Horne and Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee were among the many presenters along with Representative Jennifer Pawlik, Representative Mitzi Epstein, Senator Christine Marsh, Senator Ken Bennett, Representative Ben Toma, and Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. They all spoke about the importance of school choice in our state and the impact it has made nation-wide. “Parents know the best way to educate their children and that’s why we honor school choice in Arizona,” said Yee.

“It gives a parent a unique perspective to identify the special characteristics that their student has and better feeds what type of education they will receive,” said Bianca Ulibarri, the Director of Governance for Great Hearts America. “Part of today is also to kind of gather us to show that we are on the same team and that we’re just all here for the students and want to show that each school is unique.”

“It’s really important for us to be able to lock arms with our charter school colleagues and make sure that state officials and elected leaders aren’t missing the fact that we do such good and important work,” explained Brandon Crowe, Superintendent for Great Hearts Arizona.

Several charter school students were invited to the stage to perform during the event, from indigenous basket dancers to a brass band, concluding with our show-stopping barbershop singers from Veritas Prep, the Shave Shack, who amazed the crowd with their pitch-perfect five-part harmonies and commanding stage presence.

You couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day at the Capitol and there was definite excitement in the air for the continued growth and success of public charter schools in Arizona along with optimistic hope for the future of Arizona’s charter schools.

Jake Logan, CEO of Arizona Charter Schools Association said he was amazed to see how the charter school movement has grown. “We’re grateful for Great Hearts and all the other charter schools in the state that continue to do amazing work for our kids and our students,” he said.

Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.