Alliance Annual Report Form

ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT FORM 2007-2008

ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT FORM

2007-2008

Deadline: This report is due December 31, 2008.

Email your completed report to Clare Rose at

The Alliance Network Report is part of a broad effort to assess the education and outreach programs funded and/or conducted by the National Geographic Education Foundation (NGEF). Please complete this report thoroughly. This report constitutes the final report that all Alliances will complete for the 2007-2008 program year.

Our work to assess Alliance activities has two goals:

·  To refine and improve what we do, and,

·  To demonstrate the impact of what we do.

The information from the report will prove invaluable in demonstrating the effectiveness of the Network to the Foundation’s Board, to policy makers, business leaders, and non-profit funders as each of us pursues additional resources and support for the Network.

If you have questions about the Alliance Network Report, please contact Clare Rose at or (310) 820-8521.

I. ORGANIZATION

Name of Alliance: Arizona Geographic Alliance

Your Name: Ronald I. Dorn

Your Position in the Alliance: Co-Coordinator

Host Institution: Arizona State University

Your Position at the Host Institution: Professor of Geographical Sciences

Alliance URL: http://alliance.la.asu.edu/azga/

1. What is the current status of geography education in your state? (i.e. what grades offer stand-alone and/or integrated geography courses; have any new geography and/or social studies courses been added in the past two years; is geography required for graduation; is geography content included in state assessments; etc.)? *Please limit your description to no more than two paragraphs.

Very little has changed in the past year. Geography is one of five strands in a social studies standard that emphasizes history. There was a slight movement towards the development of a required social studies assessment, but the budget crisis has silenced that movement. Various high schools still offer AP Human Geography as well as geography electives.

2. What does next year look like? Are other significant events in Geography / Social Studies that will be occurring in the next year (textbook adoption, assessment development, school restructuring, etc.) *Please limit your description to no more than two paragraphs.

There are no state level major geography/social studies events that are scheduled. The biggest issue rests with the notification in September 2008 of the elimination of our $50,000 of support from the Arizona Department of Education. Our funds were part of a $2.2 million in budget cuts affecting AzGA and similar education outreach organizations. We will be working with the TCs to re-establish the state support.

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ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT FORM 2007-2008

3. We are interested to learn about the areas of focus for your Alliance for 2007/2008. What were you attempting to accomplish? What were your Alliance’s top priorities? Where did you focus your efforts? In the table below please use the first column to enter your Alliance’s top three priorities for 2007/2008 (e.g. Areas of Emphasis). Use the second column to describe the Action(s) Taken to accomplish the goals in your Areas of Emphasis. Finally, in column III, explain the Result(s) of Your Efforts. Examples of each are provided for your reference. Please describe successful strategies identified through your efforts in the Results section. If you would like to include more than three areas of focus, you are welcome to do so. Additional rows have been provided for that purpose, but are not mandatory.

I. Area of Emphasis / II. Action(s) Taken / III. Result(s) of Your Efforts
Example: Increase the number of teachers trained through professional development. / Example: The Alliance provided 8 day-long workshops in 2 school districts on the state’s new World History/Geography course. / Example: 120 teachers total were trained in the workshops; they provided positive feedback about their experiences on evaluation forms; 15 teachers also provided additional two-hour-long professional development workshops at their schools reaching 75 teachers across 15 schools.
Priority 1. Strengthen geography education opportunities for teachers in Arizona / Action(s) 1. Provided workshops that strengthened geographic education such as GeoLiteracy, GeoLiteracy ELL, GeoMath, and GeoHistory
2. Updated curriculum projects to the new mathematics standards
3. Added more copyright free maps to our website
4. Recruited 14 additional students into the Masters of Geography Education program
5. Released on line our GeoLiteracy lessons with ELL updates to the public at no cost / Result(s) 1. AzGA TCs gave 42 workshops/workshop sessions during 2008. These workshops impacted over 1300 teachers who impact over 78,400 students.
2. Our GeoMath CD is entirely up-dated with recently released state standards.
3. We now have over 900 maps on our website including a new section for grades 1-4 and for historical maps.
4. In the second year of its existence, the MASGE program has grown to 30 students who are working on their master's degree in geography education.
5. All 85 GeoLiteracy lessons can be downloaded from our website. Each of the lessons has adaptations for English Language Learners (ELL).
Priority 2. Reinforce NGEF themes and priorities / Action(s) 2. 1. Conducted a day long workshop on the Geo Action themes of Mapping the Americas (fall 2008) as well as Celebrate Asia (spring 2008)
2. Distributed information and promoted MWW, GA, GAW and NG Live! at all of our local workshops
3. Lobbied our legislators to support TGIF. / Result(s) 2. 1. 110 teachers attended the Mapping the Americas workshop. 82 teachers attended Celebrate Asia.
2. Thousands of flyers and other materials supplied by NGS are given to teachers as they attend our workshops and community education fairs.
3. AzGA leadership gained the signature of Ed Pastor on the TGIF bill and have continued the support of Representatives Mitchell and Grijalva. We communicated with Rep. Giffords, but were not successful in persuading her to sign on to the bill.
4. Governor Napolitano signed the 2007 and 2008 GAW Proclamations.
Priority 3.Maintain the network of active and engaged Teacher Consultants (TCs) / Action(s) 3. 1. Held an Advanced Alliance Summer Geography Institute focused on linking Geography with new History Performance Objectives (GeoHistory)
2. Conducted an Annual Business Meeting to gain insight into teacher and organizational needs
3. Supported TCs through grants and supplies for their in-services and classroom activities
4. Wrote letters of recommendation for awards, travel opportunities, admission to advanced degree programs, and other professional development activities
5. Recruited students in the Master of Advanced Study in Geographic Education program to become TCs
6. Provided opportunities to grow personally and professionally in the use of technology / Result(s) 3. 1. 21 TCs wrote GeoHistory lessons that are now being shared with the public at NCGE Dearborn, NCSS Houston, and the AZ Council for the Social Studies conferences.
2. Over 30 TCs met in Payson, AZ to discuss and then create our action plans for 2008-2009. One of their suggestions was to emphasize GeoHistory as our latest curriculum project.
3. Several smalll grants were given to TCs in the amount of $200 or less. Rick Byers (Sierra Vista) used his grant for a digital camera. The student then used the camera in his ecology class. Materials shared with TCs include: NGS maps, What is Geography booklets, Pathways to Literacy pamphlets, beach ball globes, and GA and MWW posters.
4. The Co-coordinators write 2 or more letters per month recommending TCs for various awards and positions.
5. Two students in the MASGE program became TCs through an innovative approach of allowing them to join current TCs in an advanced summer institute.
6. Provided a workshop is how to use PowerPoint to create a BINKO presentation and co-sponsored 3 workshops in using GPS units in the classroom.
7. Sent 3 teachers to Nevada for the GAIN SGI 2008. This shared traininig allows AzGA and GAIN to add new TCs to the cadre each year. AzGA was thus able to add 5 new TCs to the roster in a year without a basic SGI.
Maintain partnerships with other geographical alliances and educational groups in order to maintain and develop a larger sense of community in geographic education / 1. Provided GeoLiteracy and GeoMath workshops in other states.
2. Collaborated with the AZ Dept. of Education and the AZ Historical Society to create the GeoHistory project.
3. Supported preservice education. / 1. TCs were sent to North Dakota and Oklahoma to conduct GeoLiteracy and GeoMath workshops with the teachers of those states.
2. GeoHistory includes 20 lessons based on AZ state and national geography standards. In many cases, primary sources were supplied for the lessons by the AZ Historical Society. The project also resulted in the creation of custom maps which enhance the lessons.
3. In the fall and spring, one of the Co-coordinators is a guest speaker in the social studies methods classes of Dr. Liz Hinde, Ken deMasi, and/or Dr. Nancy Haas. The same Co-coordinator also teaches a geeography methods class in the fall semester to undergraduates.

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ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT FORM 2007-2008

II. TEACHERS / MEMBERSHIP

4. Did the Alliance provide grants to teachers in 2007/2008?

Yes No

5. Did the Alliance provide mentorship programs for new teachers in 2007/2008?

Yes No

6. Please use the table below to indicate the Alliance’s membership. Use Column I to enter total membership at the close of the 2007/2008 grant year, and Column II to enter the number of new members/TCs added during the 2007/2008 grant year. Definitions for each member type are provided below:

·  General Member—a member who receives newsletters, emails or other communications but who is not active in Alliance activities on a regular basis.

·  Active Member—a member who has actively participated in Alliance training or other events within the past three years.

·  Teacher Consultant (TC)—a member who has been through a leadership training program, as prescribed by the Alliance (with a minimum of 45 contact hours), and who provides in-service training to other teachers.

I. Member Type / II. Total Membership as of Oct 31, 2008 / III. New Members/TCs Added During 2007/2008
General Members / 2677 / 233
Active Members / 708
Teacher Consultants (TCs) / 199 / 5

III. FUNDING

7. Please use the table below to list the amounts (cash and in-kind) that you obtained in this grant period from all sources. Examples of funding sources may include product sales, your Alliance’s host institution, the state, the Federal government, or private foundations. Include NGEF grant(s) or NGEF managed endowments, and name the contributing donors/funders if applicable. The Cash Amount, In-Kind Value, and Total columns should sum to equal the Totals entered into the bottom row.

Source / Donor/Funder
(if applicable) / Cash Amount / In-Kind Value / Total
Example: NGEF / CA Geog. Ed. Fund / $32,500 / $0 / $32,500
Example: 21st Century Learning Grant / CA Department of Education / $97,000 / $0 / $97,000
Example: Host Institution / Humboldt State Univ. / $10,000 / $25,000 / $35,000
NGEF / $50000 / $ / $50000
Arizona Department of Education / $50000 / $ / $50000
Host Institution - Arizona State University / School of Geographical Sciences (C. Davis salary + ERE) / $19000 / $ / $19000
Host Institution- Arizona State University / Arizona State University (Waived indirect cost) / $ / $26500 / $26500
$ / $ / $
Arizona State Land Department / AGIC / ASU Institute For Social Science Research / $1772 / $ / $1772
Partner organizations / Arizona Historical Society, Arizona Council for the Social Studies, Arizona Science Center / $ / $6950 / $6950
Royalties / National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) / $400 / $ / $400
AzGA sales: / GL/GM CDs & workshops / $5800 / $ / $5800
Rand McNally, NGS School Publishing / materials for workshops / $ / $2500 / $2500
$ / $ / $
Totals: / $126,972 / $35,950 / $162,922

IV. PUBLIC POLICY

8. Please use the table below to enter an “X” into columns to indicate if/when each activity took place. (If an activity took place before the 2007/2008 grant year and during the 2007/2008 grant year, PLEASE CHECK BOTH COLUMNS.)

Took Place Before the 2007/2008 Grant Year / Occurred During the 2007/2008 Grant Year / This Has Not Yet Occurred / Don’t Know
a. Geography course(s) are required in middle schools in our state.
b. Geography course(s) are required in high schools in our state.
c. State educational assessments include items testing knowledge of geography.
d. Our legislature introduced bills in support of an Alliance endowment.
e. Annual funding for the Alliance is a line item in the state budget.
f. The Alliance received annual funding from the state.
g. The Legislature and/or governor publicly acknowledged NGS initiatives such as Geography Awareness Week.
h. Alliance members were asked to advise state level policy-makers & the public about geography education.
i. Members of the Alliance sat on state level educational task forces/committees.
j. State officials attended events sponsored by the Alliance.
k. Congressional representatives spoke at events sponsored by the Alliance.
l. Alliance members conducted workshops, presentations, hearings, etc. on geography education before congressional or state level legislative committees

9. Please use the table below to indicate the elected representatives and agency staff that Alliance members met with or wrote letters/emails to. Enter an “X” into columns II or III to indicate the type of communication (meeting, written letters/emails). Use column IV to specify the members, agencies, or officials contacted.

I. Elected Representatives and Agency Staff / II. Met With / III. Written Letters/ Emails / IV. Specify Members, Agencies, Officials
Federal Members of Congress (NGS “Hill Day”, etc.) / Met with Legislative Assistants for Raul Grijalva: Mr. Rueben Reyes, for Ed Pastor: Rose Avellino, for Harry Mitchell: Gene T. Fisher and for Gabrielle Giffords: Crisoforo Garza. Numerous TCs told us they emailed their representatives with either thank yous for signing on or urging them to support the TGIF bill.
Federal agencies
State elected officials / NGS (Lanny Proffer) attempted to meet with Gov. Napolitano regarding state endowment. Meeting canceled by Gov's staff.
State agencies / Tom Horne, Arizona State Education Superintendent.
Other:

10. When are state Social Studies & Science standards due to be revised?