The Pima Joint Technical Education District Governing Board has named Kathy Prather, Pima JTED’s deputy superintendent, as its new leader beginning July 1, when the current superintendent, Alan L. Storm, caps a 50-year career in education.
Storm, who started his career teaching business education in Massachusetts, became the first superintendent/CEO of Pima JTED in 2007. Under his leadership, Pima JTED purchased or built 17 buildings in the past 11 years with no indebtedness to taxpayers. It started by offering three central campus programs, and now has 24 such programs serving approximately 1,600 students each year.
Prather was instrumental in the formation of Pima JTED while serving as the career and technical education director for the Tucson Unified School District. She served in the same capacity at the Sunnyside Unified School District from 2012 until 2017.
Tucson Jazz Institute is finalist in contest
The Tucson Jazz Institute is among 15 finalists selected from nearly 200 high school programs across the country to compete in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 23rd annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival.
Each finalist band receives an in-school workshop led by a professional musician before coming to New York to perform before trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and a panel of judges.
For more information, visit jazz.org/ee
2 schools for at-risk students are enrolling
Two Pima County programs that assist at-risk students in graduating from high school are accepting applications in the coming weeks.
Pima Vocational High School is accepting students ages 16 to 21 for the session that begins March 1. Interested students must attend a two-day orientation on Feb. 26 to 27, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., at the PVHS south campus, 175 W. Irvington Road. Call 724-9470 to reserve a spot. A registration packet can be obtained at pimavocational.org
Pima County’s Las Artes Arts & Education Center is also accepting students for the GED session that begins Feb. 26. The program pays students a weekly incentive to offset costs of transportation, clothing and school supplies. A new student orientation will be held Wednesday, Feb. 21, from 8 a.m. to noon at the school, 23 W. 27th St., in South Tucson.
Young people ages 17 to 22 must complete an application and take a basic assessment to determine placement level before attending the Las Artes orientation. They can come to the school Monday through Thursday for the initial assessment, beginning at 8:15 a.m.
Literacy challenges
are focus of breakfast
A collaboration of stakeholders in business and education will meet on Feb. 27 for an event designed to address literacy challenges and showcase strategies and best practices in closing the achievement gap.
The 13th annual Business Leaders for Early Education Breakfast, hosted by United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona and Women United, will be held at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave., from 7 to 9 a.m.
Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at www.UnitedWayTucson.org/businessbreakfast
