With a passion for bilingual education, Ahwatukee Foothills resident Nicole Teyechea McNeil is opening up a preschool this summer where kids can learn and benefit from knowing a second language.

Calling the governor's proposal unacceptable and politically dead at the Legislature, House Speaker Andy Tobin unveiled his own new plan Tuesday to expand Medicaid, one that would give Arizona voters the final say.

Olivia Maiefski, a 2009 alumnus from Mountain Pointe High School, graduated from the University of Arizona Honors College with a Bachelor of Science in speech, language and hearing sciences and a minor in Spanish. Maiefski graduated summa cum laude.

Saying she's run out of patience, Gov. Jan Brewer will veto any bills sent to her until she sees movement on a new state budget and her pet Medicaid expansion project.

Moving forward in reviewing the district’s policy on sex education in its high schools, the Tempe Union High School District is looking for parents and residents to participate in a committee for instruction.

The number of children being taken into Child Protective Services’ custody continues to escalate each year in Arizona, but the minors are not the only concern. After age 18, college-bound individuals who were essentially raised in the system still need the support — like any young adult — to have a successful future.

Gun rights

Summit School of Ahwatukee middle school teachers, Andrea Yocum, Christy Menard and Amy Lecky, are recipients of this year’s Xavier College Preparatory Golden Gator Award for Excellence in Teaching. Xavier High School recognizes junior high teachers who have been inspirational to Xavier freshmen students. This is the third Golden Gator for Lecky, who teaches middle school language arts and literature, and the second for both science teacher Andrea Yocum, and math teacher Christy Menard. In previous years Summit teacher Melissa France has also received this award.

The media loosely throws around the word “sociopath.” Many people don’t understand what being a sociopath means. But, if recent studies are correct, 1 in 25 people are considered to be sociopathic. That tells us that most of us will meet several sociopaths in our lifetime. The goal is meet them, work with them, pray with them, but do not get into a relationship with them. Attempting to have a relationship with an emotionally unavailable person will ultimately be psychologically destructive.

Local animal shelters have enough camps to keep any animal lover engaged and learning this summer.

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.

Freshmen, it’s not too early to start thinking about your college plans. Your first step — build a strong resume. If you establish high standards and work hard, you will set yourself up for unlimited opportunities when you apply to colleges in the fall of your senior year. Here are some tips to get you started:

Summit School of Ahwatukee • 4515 E. Muirwood Drive

Just as students from Kyrene Altadeña Middle School got into the flow of packing boxes of food this week for the Feed My Starving Children organization, a song came blaring from the back of the warehouse that seemed almost divinely planned.

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.

Change is hard, whether it be personal or professional. However, evolving is also a key element of progress. Last week at the Kyrene School District Governing Board meeting, we presented information about a year and a half study of our middle school program.

Students at Kyrene de los Lagos Elementary School in Ahwatukee Foothills are celebrating the national program Read Across America with a challenge: reading a quarter of a million pages or minutes in about six weeks.

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.

State lawmakers took the first steps Tuesday to letting teachers legally carry weapons in at least some public schools.

Arizona is facing a literacy crisis and it begins in early childhood.

4530 E. Muirwood Drive, Suite 103

Upon entering Keystone Montessori School, you feel a sense of peace and calm, unlike the conventional spiritedness of many traditional schools. In Keystone’s courtyard the central, light pole has been transformed into a beautiful, new peace pole. Traditionally, a peace pole is a monument that contains the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in different languages.

In a previous column I discussed the PACER, a test of cardiovascular fitness that is part of the national youth physical fitness test battery (FITNESSGRAM). FITNESSGRAM, was developed at the Cooper Institute in Dallas and is now offered as a cooperative program with the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition (PCFSN) and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD). In addition to assessing cardiovascular fitness, the FITNESSGRAM Test Battery includes tests of muscle fitness, flexibility, and body composition.

Packed into the school’s gymnasium Friday morning, students at Mountain Pointe High School celebrated diversity, culture, and Black History Month awareness with a series of assemblies for upper and lower classmen.

Arizona recently hosted school-choice supporters from across the country in Phoenix for National School Choice Week. Research conducted by Dr. David Garcia, Arizona State University, concludes that after nearly two decades of expanding choice options in our state, traditional public schools continue to be the choice for nearly nine out of 10 Arizona students. In fact, more than 3,500 students come to Kyrene for their education from outside our boundaries because parents are exercising their right to choose.