The Arizona Department of Education is pleased to provide you with this state report card as a part of our compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind law. We are working hard to raise academic standards for Arizona students. We are also holding our schools accountable for how well students perform academically. We are restoring classroom discipline, which is an essential component for achieving academic excellence. We also have an extensive state program to help schools whose test scores show a need for improvement. We are working hard to make sure Arizona students and schools are performing to their absolute potential.

The Strategic Plan comprises an ambitious set of goals and objectives. It is a “living” document that will guide our focus and activities. As such, some objectives and expected results will be subject to change as information and events unfold. Objectives and measures aligned to drive achievement have also been developed in Units, Sections, and Divisions throughout the Department.

The Hydrology Division of the Arizona Department of Water Resources has been in the process over the last two years of updating the geology used in the Department’s Salt River Valley Regional Groundwater Flow Model. The geology update is the first phase of an overall plan to update the model’s geologic structure, numerical grid and extend the model’s steady-state and transient calibration periods. Releasing the provisional geologic report at this time allows us to provide the new data and analysis to water providers and other model users prior to the completion of the overall model update. Please be advised that the geologic data and interpretations that are included in this report and accompanying database are provisional at this time and subject to revision.

As a result of high growth rates, physically and legally limited water supplies, drought, economic constraints, and relatively little comprehensive water resource planning and management, water supplies are stressed in some parts of Arizona. The Arizona Department of Water Resources has collected and synthesized currently available water-related information for the State of Arizona into a “water atlas,” organized by planning area.

Realizing the need for drought preparedness in Arizona, a Governor’s Drought Task Force was created in 2003 and the Arizona Drought Preparedness Plan developed. The plan was adopted in 2004 and its continued implementation ordered in 2007. It established a framework to monitor drought, improve understanding of drought impacts, and determine mechanisms for limiting future vulnerability. The Arizona Department of Water Resources coordinates these activities and prepares the Arizona Drought Preparedness Annual Report each year.

The Arizona Department of Water Resources manages the state’s water supply. Water management includes a wide variety of activities that are intended to protect and preserve the water supply. Examples of these activities include licensing well drillers, assuring the safety of dams, and developing mandatory conservation requirements for all water use sectors in Active Management Areas, protecting the state’s Colorado River allocation and facilitating Indian water rights negotiations among tribal representatives, local interests, federal and state officials and members of Congress.

Our Plan includes ambitious, innovative goals and objectives focused on developing great schools, excellent teachers, and successful students. We believe that implementing this Plan in partnership with education, business and community stakeholders will help us achieve our mission: To serve Arizona’s education community, ensuring every student has access to an excellent education.