Superintendent's Update - January 2022

Arizona’s nationally-recognized school of choice
We are proud to announce that EVIT will be the featured school of choice in this year’s national video to kick off National School Choice Week, Jan. 23-29. EVIT was chosen by organizers of this national event that highlights K-12 education options for families. As a central campus in the EVIT Career Technical Education District (CTED), EVIT provides high school students career training in over 40 programs, as well as career education for adults. East Valley high school students can choose to attend their high school for a half-day of academics and EVIT for a half-day of tuition-free training where they focus on their career passion. Our students often tell us they like coming to EVIT because they are with other students who have chosen to be here. We are honored to provide East Valley families with that choice -- approved by voters in 1990 -- and to be the featured school in this year’s national school choice video.

EVIT Expo
This year’s EVIT Expo coincides with National School Choice Week. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 29, the public is invited to explore EVIT’s Main Campus, 1601 W. Main St., and learn more about the programs offered by our Main and Power campuses. There will be trolley tours, food trucks, music, games and much more. Come out and see why thousands of East Valley families have made EVIT their career school of choice since 1990!

Associate degree legislation
EVIT is working with state lawmakers to create legislation that would allow CTEDs to offer associate degrees in programs that prepare students for careers in high-demand fields. Last session, lawmakers approved legislation that allows community colleges to offer bachelor degrees. This year’s measure would continue to expand the options available to students who could earn an associate degree while still in high school – and be half-way toward their bachelor degree if they choose to go on to a community college or university. It would also allow EVIT, which already provides post-secondary programs for adults, to offer associate degrees for college-level training.

EVIT in national news
Superintendent Dr. Chad Wilson was recently interviewed by the Hechinger Report. The article was also published in The Washington Post: “Long disparaged, education for skilled trades is making a comeback” -- https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/12/31/skilled-trade-education-comeback/. The article pointed out that EVIT’s post-secondary enrollment is up 54% since 2018.

Inspiring alumni
Two years after completing EVIT’s Criminal Justice program, Erick Rodriguez works with Patriot missile systems in the U.S. Army and recently completed a 12-month combat deployment in Saudi Arabia. Read Erick’s story: https://bit.ly/3t1Oold. Since completing the Aviation program in 2015, Taylor Izard has worked as a flight school dispatcher, flight instructor, charter pilot and airline pilot. Read Taylor’s story: https://bit.ly/3eMGeF8.

Thank you for your support in helping EVIT change lives.