Culminating the first year of using a tool to evaluate its teaching staff, the Kyrene School District presented results that showed more than 800 teachers were rated as “highly effective.”

On May 18 Everest College Phoenix celebrated the graduation of 141 students from its Phoenix campus. During the graduation ceremony, Calvin Coolidge Goode was recognized for his extraordinary leadership in Arizona and beyond as well as his dedication to the promotion of education and advancement of civil rights. He was presented with an Everest College Phoenix honorary degree, doctor of humane letters.

Interest rates are at historic lows. But they will rise eventually. If you invest in fixed-income vehicles, such as bonds, what might higher rates mean for you?

Father’s Day gifts have morphed over the years. It used to be a tie, a golf hat or a jazz CD. But dads are more tech-savvy these days.

Going to need hospital care?

The Ahwatukee Community Network (ACN) is bringing passionate people together again, this time on the topic of children in foster care.

Urban AZ’s first Spoken Word Showcase brings together a range of poetic performers, along with R&B artists Dwele and Bilal with a band, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18 at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix.

Trumpeter/bandleader Doc Severinsen can still hit the notes, and it's not something he ever takes for granted. He always warms up.

Having observed the failure of our education system by dumbing-down our children for the past 50 years, concern has to be expressed about the “new” Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI).

Just as schools in Ahwatukee are starting and finishing their spring testing of AIMS, incoming freshmen for next school year are beginning to wrap their heads around the idea of their familiar testing coming to an end.

Arizonans who have to seek protection from creditors in bankruptcy court soon will be able to hang on to more of what they own.

One arrived before Rudy Valee and the other a year before The Beatles, but together they made beautiful music in nurturing a piece of Ahwatukee that spanned the decades between the roaring ‘20s and this year’s cold winter rains.

Ahwatukee Music Maker Workshops has summer camps for all levels to get kids rocking, moving and mastering music.

Calling it "an important part of improving education,'' Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation Thursday to eliminate the AIMS test -- including the graduation requirement -- paving the way for something else to measure the new Common Core standards already being implemented in Arizona schools.

Arizona high schoolers may soon be rid of having to pass AIMS -- or any standardized test -- to graduate.

Parents, teachers, education leaders and activists gathered last week at the State Capitol for an informational meeting that discussed the new Common Core state standards and the possibility of replacing AIMS testing.

They brought folk back to mainstream radio long before The Lumineers and Of Monsters And Men hit it big, with blissful, down-home tunes popping up in jaunty car commercials and adorable father-daughter YouTube covers. This weekend, you can find the 10-piece Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at the McDowell Mountain Music Festival in Phoenix, where they’ll be rubbing shoulders with the likes of The Shins, Dr. Dog and The Roots.

Twenty-three students at Horizon Honors High School performed rehearsed pieces for their peers, staff and parents this week, all historical icons from the Harlem Renaissance.

In an uncertain economy, it’s natural for people to “tighten their belts” by cutting down on their spending. And yet by having too much cash on hand today, you could actually slow your progress toward your financial goals of tomorrow.

The Ahwatukee Brass Quintet will play the National Anthem at its first spring training game this week in Scottsdale.

As staff at the Mesa Arts Center began preparation for its second “Festival of Creativity,” MAC executive director Cindy Ornstein said the group was looking for something to pique their interests — a spark, of sorts.

When the (Kyrene School District Governing Board) decided to go to the 68-minute class schedule (3 to 2 vote), it was justified by statistics from an outside group the former superintendent brought in. Their claim was in order to compete with other districts, the students needed more academic time.

Part of a cultural exchange program that at one point included about 65 schools, Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School in Ahwatukee Foothills is one of the few remaining host schools in the state.

Keystone Montessori School in Ahwatukee recently received an unexpected surprise: a large, musical donation was delivered to the school. Included in the donation was a pallet full of ukuleles.