Metropolitan Education Commission

“The metropolitan education commission was formed as a joint commission by the city of tucson and pima county for educational and advocacy purposes. The commission has members as defined by the board of supervisors and the mayor and council resolutions.”

“The mayor and members of the tucson city council, together with the pima county board of supervisors, may each appoint members of the commission. Each governmental entity retains power to appoint 5 members of the governing body. The 24 remaining appointments come from the community education and business organizations.”

“Form 990 is prepared by an independent cpa and a draft is provided to the excutive director for review. Upon the executive director's approval, a copy is provided to the entire board prior to filing.”

“Each employee and commissioner is provided a copy of the conflict of interest policy and required to sign an acknowledgement. The acknowledgement states that upon or before election, hiring, or appointment, the individual will make a full, written disclosure of interests and relationships that could potentially result in a conflict of interest, and that the disclosure will be updated as appropriate. During the course of commission meetings or activities, the individual is required to disclose any and all interests in a transaction or decision that could confer, or appear to confer, benefit or gain to the individual, his business, or his family. After making such disclosure, the individual will not be allowed to participate in any discussion or vote involving a possible conflict of interest.”

“The executive committee of the board of directors determined current year compensation for both the executive director and the administrative assistant by comparison with jted (joint technological education district) standards for such positions.”

“The organization makes all important documents, including its forms 990 and 1023, together with its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements, available to the public upon request at its office.”

“The metropolitan education commission (mec), a non-profit 501(c)(3), was established in 1990 through a joint resolution between pima county and the city of tucson. The mec is composed of 34 citizen commissioners, whose purpose is to advise, make recommendations and serve as advocates in all areas that affect the educational welfare of students throughout pima county and the city of tucson. Mec's goals include: -to advocate for a quality and affordable education for all students from pre-kindergarten to post-secondary education. -to empower students, families, and educators with information on issues affecting all levels of education and create a community of education advocates to support our youth. -to promote graduation from high school as a first step toward an enriched future and prepare students for a higher education and contribute to a highly skilled workforce. -to acknowledge individuals and groups within the community whose exemplary service to students and to education merits such special recognition.”

“Education advocacy: goal one: graduate! /meta numero uno: graduar! In 1994, the goal one: graduate! / meta numero uno: graduar! Initiative was originally designed to promote and increase the high school graduation rates in pima county. This initiative has now become the overarching theme for all mec educational advocacy activities that promote academic achievement and graduation at all levels of the education continuum from pre-school to post-secondary education. Goal one: graduate!/meta numero uno: graduar! Poster contest students from pima county elementary, middle and high schools participate in this contest designed to promote graduation from high school and pursuit of a higher education. The student winners receive a $100 monetary award at the crystal apple awards luncheon. Youth leadership & civic engagement: youth advisory council/tucson teen congress (yac/ttc) composed of middle and high school students from public, private and charter schools throughout pima county, the yac/ttc serves as a youth advisory council and sounding board to the mec, county and city elected officials, and community leaders. Two members of the yac/ttc serve as mec youth commissioners to ensure the youth voice is represented on the 34-member commission. This energetic teen group collaborates with other community organizations by participating in the planning of events such as the city-wide youth and peace conference, the league of united latin american citizens (lulac) youth leadership conference; and the are the selection committee for the outstanding teen citizen awards, and the goal one: graduate! Poster contest. Yac/ttc members represent the city of tucson at the annual arizona league of cities & towns; sponsor the annual teen town hall; and travel to the state capitol in phoenix to meet with state legislators on civic engagement day. Local elected officials and school district representatives also attend yac/ttc meetings, to present on local government structure and activities and to listen to the students' ideas and concerns. Youth workforce: the key to employment for the 21st century symposium high school students from across pima county attend the annual key to employment for the 21st century symposium held at the university of arizona to explore high-tech career opportunities. The event is a signature event of the arizona sci-tech festival and in 2017, received the arizona commission for postsecondary education's legacy award. To date, over 7,000 students have participated in the event. Higher education pathways planning: regional college access center the regional college access center (rcac) is an information and referral center designed to serve all tucson and pima county students and families. Rcac staff plan and participate in special outreach activities designed for students from low-income households or who are the first in their family to attend a post-secondary education program. The rcac offers free one-on-one advising in english and spanish on various higher education pathway planning. The rcac website (www.metedu.org/rcac) offers local and national information on college and career planning resources, college testing resources, and financial aid and scholarship searches. The rcac website has had tens of thousands unique visitors to the website since its inception ten years ago. Community recognition: crystal apple awards luncheon each year the mec honors individuals and organizations for their distinguished service to education. This is typically held at the annual crystal apple awards luncheon but due to the pandemic an awards luncheon was not held; awards were individually presented to the award recipients. Award categories include the lifetime achievement, teacher, counselor, youth, corporate, education advocate, and community college/university advocate.”

“Mec collaborations a. Education advocacy - pre-school to post-secondary education -achieve 60 az -arizona center for economic progress -children's action alliance -college success arizona -early childhood education - the preschool promise taskforce -expect more az -helios education foundation -league of women's voters - youth voter registration initiatives -pima county superintendent of schools office -pima county health department and school superintendent's covid-19 weekly meetings -virtual student forum: the impact of covid-19 on students -western interstate commission for higher education (wiche) -youth advisory council/tucson teen congress civic engagement day meetings with az legislators -youth advisory council/tucson teen congress teen town hall b. College access -act prep workshops - community and school site locations -adelante conference - tucson unified school district -advise az americorps program -americorps/az serve - rcac college coach peer-to-peer career and college advising program -americorps/nau college and career readiness - americorps member -american catholic college focus group -az act council -az college access network -az commission for postsecondary education -az governor's fafsa challenge -college success az council -exploring college options: duke, georgetown, harvard, penn, stanford -focus on the future family university -helios college knowing and going initiative -junior achievement: career readiness and financial literacy for high school students -national college access network (ncan) higher education advocacy project -national college access network (ncan) fafsa challenge grant project -pima county library college day -regional college access center (rcac) networking group -sunnyside and desert view college and career fair with mayor rothschild -southern arizona ivy league project -tucson urban league & tusd african american student outreach -upward bound student and parent fafsa workshop -university high school parent university -university of arizona college of education - higher education program internships -vail school district - college access for athletes -vail school district - senior exit project volunteers -virtual college advisors c. Community engagement activities -civic engagement day - youth advisory council meetings with arizona legislators -pima county board of supervisors meetings -pima county superintendent of schools -pima county youth summer program - yac/ttc internships -school district superintendents meetings -southern arizona community schools alliance -tucson mayor and council members meetings -youth advisory council teen town hall”