From Mayor’s Desk

In January, I had the pleasure of welcoming U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez to Tucson.

From Left to right: HT Sanchez (TUSD), Mayor Jonathan Rothschild (Mayor of Tucson, AZ., Tomas E. Perez (Secretary of Labor), Chancellor Lee D. Lambert (Pima Community College)

We first went to the Point in Time Count, also known as the Street Count – the annual survey that helps determine the federal resources our community receives to serve this population.

Secretary Perez and I drove out into the desert on the southwest side of town with an agency navigator, where we surveyed residents of a homeless camp. We then went to Primavera’s Drop-in Center and spoke with more homeless Tucsonans. As always, this population ranges from people who’ve had a few bad breaks to people with mental health and/or substance abuse issues.
From Primavera, we toured Pima Community College’s Aviation Technology Center. Located near Tucson International Airport, the program teaches students hands-on repair and maintenance skills for a variety of aircraft, from small private airplanes to large commercial jets. After the tour, the Secretary and I attended a roundtable of education and industry leaders. One of the most impressive speakers was a student, also a veteran, who told how she came to be in the program.
Pima Community College is a vital resource for all of Southern Arizona. Programs like its Aviation Technology Center are what President Obama is talking about when he stresses the importance of community college in building a career-ready workforce. For a long time now, Pima has been working with industry to make sure its curricula offer in-demand skills for in-demand jobs. Proof of the success of this approach is found in the many students who find employment immediately upon graduation – particularly in technology fields, such as aviation.
From Pima, the secretary went on to other meetings, and other cities. But he left Tucson, I am sure, with an appreciation of our city’s commitment to addressing homelessness and to creating a career-ready workforce. Everywhere, the power of collaboration was on display, as more than a dozen agencies and dozens of volunteers participated in the Street Count; and as community college, industry, and K12 leaders sat down to discuss areas of common interest – as well as barriers to collaboration. For example, how our state funds K12 education and community colleges makes it very difficult to come up with programs where a high school senior can graduate with community college credit. These are the kinds of things I’d like to see our state work on fixing, so that students, schools, and communities can benefit from this kind of initiative, and not be penalized for it.
The day after the secretary’s visit, I spoke at a press conference at TUSD’s Brichta Infant & Early Learning Center. February 2-12, 2015 is their Kindergarten Round-Up, a chance for families to learn about TUSD’s kindergarten and early childhood education programs at any TUSD elementary school or Infant & Early Learning Center. I was impressed with what I saw at Brichta. Formerly a closed elementary school, it’s now one of two centers (the other is Schumaker) that offer care and curricula from 6 weeks to 4 years old. Contact TUSD for more information.