December 8, 2003

Tempe (AZ) Mayor Neil Giuliano led a local committee to secure his city as site for the final Democratic presidential debate on October 3.

Tempe, home to Arizona State University, will host the event on the university campus.

Denver's New Mayor Committed to Quality Education Throughout City

Newly elected Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has taken a strong stand on improving the quality of education for his city's youth. From the beginning of his term, the mayor has been visiting schools every week and stated he will visit each public school in Denver to see, hear and experience how the city can better support the schools.

In a recent editorial he wrote, ". . . improving education for children and youth is not only the right thing to do, but it is vital to Denver's economy and quality of life. The quality of our schools is the foundation of our city's future." He further stated there is a role for city government and it "must work to fulfill the promise that every school in every neighborhood becomes a place that every single one of us would be proud to send our children."

To accomplish this goal, the mayor has begun three over-arching efforts.

First is strengthening the city government's partnership with the Denver Public Schools through coordination, collaboration and enhanced communication. This will include better access to quality after'school programs that are developmentally appropriate.

Second is expanding the involvement of the business community in actively supporting the public schools. The city must become more teacher-, child- and family-friendly. This can be accomplished through better leveraging of public and private resources used to enhance school and neighborhood infrastructures, and build stronger educationally enriching environments.

Third is for the Mayor's Office of Education and Children to lead the charge of advancing new partnerships. Identifying best practices, strong strategies, and innovated programming and planning will accomplish this. The focus of the effort will be the first two decades of life that should be a seamless journey for a child if the city, schools and community work together in raising them.