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 Arizona Injury Surveillance and Prevention Plan establishes objectives and proposes strategic actions to avoid injury. The actions proposed are based on the knowledge that many seemingly accidental injuries could have been prevented by taking precautions, avoiding unnecessary risks, and/or enacting and enforcing laws such as drunk driving laws or seat belt laws.

The Arizona Department of Health Services offers a vast array of programs that benefit every state resident and visitor. I like to remind people that we are with you from birth to death. In fact, we provide certificates for both events through our Office of Vital Records. If you drink the water, eat the food, require hospital or nursing home care or use a child care facility, the Arizona Department of Health Services has touched your life in some important way. Assuring the quality of our food and water, setting standards for hospitals and nursing home and child care, maintaining the State’s vital records, screening newborns for genetic diseases, protecting the public from disease and overseeing the state’s mental health system and Arizona State Hospital are just some of the duties of the Arizona Department of Health Services.

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.

Bullying and violence in K-12 schools have been in the policy spotlight in Arizona for almost a decade. However, current indicators and recent traumatic events show that a range of anti-social behaviors on school campuses remain a major threat to student well-being and learning. This briefing was distributed at panel discussion on bullying and safe school environments, focusing on such issues.

Since the release of the CDC’s recommendations to improve preconception health in 2006, the Arizona Department of Health Services and its partners across the state have made steady progress in improving awareness about preconception health and increasing access to preconception health services. The Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health assessed internal programs serving women and children to identify opportunities for integrating preconception health education and services into program policies and procedures.