This is an exciting time in education, and, with the start of a new school year, Mesa Public Schools (MPS) is leading the charge as a 21st century powerhouse of learning.
MPS works efficiently and effectively by improving educational standards, embracing technology and adapting to changing needs to better serve the community.
New Preschool Centers
MPS optimizes facility usage, staffing and financial resources to maximize student achievement. For example, the district is adding two new preschool centers. The Jordan Center for Early Education is on the former Jordan Elementary School campus, and the second new center for early education is at Red Mountain Ranch Elementary School.
MPS is excited about the new centers because now, more than ever, early childhood education is a critical component in long-term student success.
Tot Wallace, community education director, believes MPS provides the best start, and the centers will enable more children to excel.
Both centers offer half-day pre-kindergarten. The full-day Pre-kindergarten Plus program features flexible hours, between 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., to meet the needs of working parents.
For registration information, visit www.mpsaz.org/preschool, or call (480) 472-7250.
New Center for Innovation
To succeed in the 21st century job market, our students develop skills, which include adaptability, originality, creativity and critical thinking.
Our newest prime example is the Eisenhower Center for Innovation. The staff currently is helping parents become familiar with the technology their children will be using during the school year.
Redesigned instructional programs will inspire students and teachers to work together, using innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
New STEM Diploma
MPS is continuing its legacy of unprecedented excellence in education by offering high school students a unique opportunity to earn a new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) diploma at Red Mountain High School.
The program is designed to help highly motivated students become proactive, prepared and positioned for the best colleges suited to their career plans. The program features a blend of accelerated courses, which follow Cambridge Curriculum and Common Core Standards, Advanced Placement and career and technical education courses.
This accelerated course of study is open to all ninth-graders. Open-enrollment students are welcome. For more information, call Catherine McDaniel, Red Mountain High School’s assistant principal for instruction and academic support, at (480) 472-8087.