Commends NUSD for AIMS test scores

Tom Horne, superintendent of Arizona schools, prepares to address students at Mary Welty Elementary School druing visit last weekto Nogales and Rio Rico.

By Jesse Froehling

Character counts, says Tom Horne, superintendent of Arizona schools. The drama club at Calabasas Middle School agrees with him, as do the kindergartners at Mary Welty, and the actors at Pina Blanca.

Horne visited a handful of Rio Rico and Nogales schools Thursday, Sept. 21, in a campaign to show that character counts when it comes to learning. Both districts earned the superintendent's praise for their implementation of the program.

Nogales drew Horne's compliments in other areas as well. Last year, Horne conducted a study that tracked the number of English Language Learners that were passing the English portion of the AIMS test. Nogales had four out of the top 10 schools in the state, he said.

"It just jumped out at me," Horne said.

In addition, 70 percent to 80 percent of the schools' students had received proficient marks on the test. The statewide average is only 70 percent proficiency for students who speak English, Horne said.

"These schools were doing better with kids that learned English than the state is doing with kids that speak the language fluently," he said.

Despite these successes, the district still "needs improvement," under the No Child Left Behind Act, according to Nogales High School Superintendent Dr. Guillermo Zamudio.

During a whirlwind tour of schools - Mary L. Welty Elementary, Pena Blanca Elementary, Calabasas Middle School, Mountain View Elementary, San Cayetano Elementary and Rio Rico High School - Horne spoke to students about the six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, character and citizenship. The students were prepared for Horne's visit. They sang songs, performed in skits and echoed Horne's refrain throughout his trip.

Beyond observing skits, Horne also gave several short speeches to the youngsters regarding their involvement in the model.

"I'm Tom Horne," he told them, "I'm in charge of 1,800 schools." They nodded fiercely when Horne asked them if they had good teachers and they answered in unison when he asked them to promise to thank their parents for being involved in their education. Parent involvement is a staple of the model.

Character Counts is based on the philosophy that young people yearn for consistent adult involvement and when they get it, they are less likely to fall into such traps as alcohol or drug abuse.

The philosophy is the brainchild of the Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics. The institute came up with the Character Counts model and formed a coalition of the same name in 1993.

For Horne, the idea began even before that. He was on the Paradise Valley School Board 20 years ago. A committee of teachers and parents in the district came up with the idea of character-based education. They implemented it soon after.

"It was similar to Character Counts in that we had six qualities, but they were slightly different. We had integrity, they have trustworthiness."

The curriculum called for class work structured around the six qualities. For example, the students would study integrity in social studies, then write essays on the idea in English. Afterwards, they would tackle the next quality.

"It was very successful," Horne said.

When Horne was elected, he decided to take the program statewide. The program is now part of the curriculum of 500 state schools. Horne says that the schools that have adopted the program have shown remarkable results such as improved academics and decreased discipline problems. He hopes to extend it to all Arizona schools.

"Among the very best implementation in the state is in Nogales and Rio Rico," he said. "It's very impressive what they've done."