Founders Letter

As a teacher and a principal, there are two things I know. The first is that there are solutions to the problems we face as educators. The second is that we make faster progress by working together. 

Together with other community leaders in education, business and philanthropy we formed AZ Leads, an organization designed to change education outcomes at scale in Arizona.

AZ Leads envisions a future in which every child, in every neighborhood, can attend a high-quality school. We aim to dramatically accelerate and expand access to high-quality education in high-need areas for the greatest number of students possible.

Given the many challenges we face, this vision is not an easy one to achieve. But as educators, we are familiar and comfortable with steps forward and back, innovative ways of learning, and the value of approaching goals from differing points of view.  

We achieve our goals by identifying innovative solutions that deliver real results; growing talent by building the pipeline of diverse, high-quality educators; identifying, promoting, replicating, and/or scaling evidence-based practices and programs to close the opportunity gap; and working with school partners, families, policymakers, and education thought leaders to identify needs and provide support through grants and strategic partnerships. 

Success will be achieved through collaboration. 

Organizations who partner with AZ Leads benefit from our commitment to transparency, efficacy and collaboration. We are deeply grateful to the organizations willing to share their knowledge, talents and resources in our mutual pursuit of expanding access to high-quality education for every student in Arizona.

Warm Regards, 
Julia Meyerson