91直播

It only took 120 seconds.

Four years ago, I was on stage at a shark tank-style competition in Boise, Idaho alongside my friend and nationally renowned education reformer Lisa Graham Keegan. Together we were pitching some of the most influential philanthropic foundations in the country on an audacious idea: fund what works.

Instead of focusing on failure, we argued that we should invest and support our best school leaders, especially those serving low-income communities.

Well, our pitch worked, and the Helmsley Charitable Trust helped to launch聽, an initiative within our聽聽and in partnership with our good friends at the聽.

From that first infusion of seed funding,聽A for Arizona聽has grown into a powerhouse that has helped spark ideas into action, allowing Arizona鈥檚 best district, magnet and charter schools to grow.

Over that same time, Arizona has seen some of the聽聽in the country.

But as steady as the improvement is, it isn鈥檛 fast enough. The Chamber and our聽A for Arizona聽partners work collaboratively every day to try and clear a path for Arizona鈥檚 best leaders, and we鈥檝e taken the next step to accelerate that work.

A for Arizona聽has just launched a public-school聽聽to accelerate the growth of Arizona鈥檚 best schools 鈥� district, magnet or charter 鈥� especially those serving low-income communities. Public schools across our state are committed to serving more and more kids in their communities. With a little bit of help from聽A for Arizona鈥檚 Expansion Fund, they could move even faster.

This time our seed funding is homegrown.

The Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation has committed $250,000 to support the creation of the Fund. And, most importantly, they have created a $1 million match that will go directly to public schools expanding across Arizona. The Burton Family Foundation has already taken them up on that offer, committing $100,000 to the Expansion Fund, which will be matched one-to-one by the Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation.

This fund will give thousands more students access to 鈥楢鈥�-rated schools starting next year.

Find out more information about how to get involved financially聽. School grant applications open on Oct. 1.

It only took 120 seconds to spark a new idea. We are now doubling down on that idea and investing directly into what鈥檚 working for Arizona students.

Glenn Hamer is the president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry