Morrison Institute for Public Policy Publications Archives

Throughout Arizona and the Southwest, the odds are against high achievement in schools with a mostly Latino, mostly poor student enrollment. Some schools, however, "beat the odds" and achieve consistently high results or show steady gains. Why do these schools succeed where others fail? Using the methodology of business guru Jim Collins from his book "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't," the authors of this report found 12 elementary and middle schools in Arizona--schools whose students are mostly Latino and mostly poor--that are "beating the odds" on reading and math scores. The authors compared them with similar schools that are performing poorly. The comparisons yielded many insights that are contrary to conventional wisdom. One key result is the unearthing of six elements of success that can translate into broader messages for education policy and strategy. The report recommends the creation of leadership programs for principals and teachers and calls for the creation of a dissemination mechanism to bring "best practices" into every school in Arizona.

Digital technology is everywhere, revolutionizing how we live, work and play. Yet, as a tool for educating our children, it is conspicuously absent in K-12 classrooms. Textbooks and lectures are still the norm, making the classroom one of the last frontiers of digital technology. This report seeks to answer some of the key questions about digital learning. What is digital learning? Where are we as a country and, in particular, in Arizona, with digital learning? What opportunities does digital learning present? And how can we make the best use of it to help educate our children?

As you will read in this report, digital learning is not a panacea. At its best, digital technology can be a tool to support students and teachers in the learning process. We don’t yet have all the answers. There are plenty of instances we can point to where digital learning efforts may have had disappointing results. Having said that, we believe that digital learning holds great promise in the field of education. It is where digital technology may achieve its greatest possible benefits and impact.

Throughout Arizona and the Southwest, the odds are against high achievement in schools with a mostly Latino, mostly poor student enrollment. Some schools, however, "beat the odds" and achieve consistently high results or show steady gains. Why do these schools succeed where others fail? Using the methodology of business guru Jim Collins from his book "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't," the authors of this report found 12 elementary and middle schools in Arizona--schools whose students are mostly Latino and mostly poor--that are "beating the odds" on reading and math scores. The authors compared them with similar schools that are performing poorly. The comparisons yielded many insights that are contrary to conventional wisdom. One key result is the unearthing of six elements of success that can translate into broader messages for education policy and strategy. The report recommends the creation of leadership programs for principals and teachers and calls for the creation of a dissemination mechanism to bring "best practices" into every school in Arizona.

The purpose of this report is to provide descriptive statistics about firearm deaths in Arizona from 2015 to 2017. Morrison Institute for Public Policy partnered with the Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety (CVPCS) to compile, analyze and report on all firearm deaths in a three-year period. Through the mechanisms of data integration and abstraction from death certificates, autopsy and toxicology reports, and law enforcement investigations, the Arizona Violent Death Reporting System (AZ-VDRS) as a National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) partner, seeks to contribute to public understanding of firearm deaths in Arizona. Understanding the scope and nature of firearm deaths at state and local levels informs local and state authorities, policymakers and other stakeholders.

COVID-19 has disrupted almost every facet of American life, but the pandemic’s economic impact has been especially challenging for some of Arizona’s renters. Prior to COVID-19, approximately one in seven Arizonans lived in poverty, which is defined as earning less than $13,000 a year for a single adult and less than $22,000 a year for a three-person family. More Arizonans are one crisis away from severe financial hardship and potential eviction than just Arizonans living in poverty. Preventing an eviction “avalanche” after Arizona’s eviction moratorium ends is critical to the state’s finances because the costs, shouldered in part by taxpayers, associated with eviction and homelessness can be staggering. While financial support from unemployment insurance programs, the federal CARES Act, and Arizona’s eviction prevention fund are helping some Arizonans navigate the initial economic fallout from COVID-19, there are still thousands of Arizonans on the brink who have applied for rental assistance and not received support.

Arizona State University's Morrison Institute policy analyst David Schlinkert is a doctoral student at ASU. He recently traveled to Florence Detention Center to observe an asylum court proceeding for one of his immigration policy classes where he discovered that for many asylum seekers, the purgatory of seeking asylum may seem more like an eternity, and the detention stay more like a prison sentence than any prospect or promise of safety and freedom.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) helps over 80,000 AmeriCorps members find a service placement annually. CNCS also conducts research on the outcomes of its programming at universities across the country and has partnered with Morrison Institute for Public Policy for a second time to better understand the employability and employment outcomes of AmeriCorps members. This year's study expands upon Morrison Institute’s 2016 analysis of Arizona's AmeriCorps programs to five states across the country. The findings from this study suggest that strong personal and professional networks emerge within the AmeriCorps program, which leads to positive employment outcomes.