The Mesa Public Schools System has come a long way from its pioneer farmer roots, when classes were taught in a shack made of cottonwood. These days, the emphasis is on preparing students to function in the new technology of the information age. Classes are geared toward the development of students who can use the latest technology and can think critically in the course of their learning experiences. The school district plans for every student to graduate with a skill or trade that will lead to future employment; to that end, the district has created and implemented a Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculum. The program is comprised of five areas of concentration, including agricultural education, business education, family and consumer sciences, industrial technology, and informational technology. Hands-on learning is stressed, with some high school students enrolled in a Cooperative Office Education program that allows them to attend classes in the morning and work at local businesses in the afternoon.
With job preparedness as a district-wide concern, it makes sense that Mesa School District would also contain a well-developed and well-supported service learning program, with community-based education suggested in art, business, computer technology, and foreign language classes.
Mesa Public Schools offers 12 alternative education programs spanning kindergarten to 12th grade and running the gamut from early education centers, to support for home-schooled students, to institutions created for drop-out prevention and retrieval.
The following is a summary of data regarding the Mesa Public Schools as of the 2004–2005 school year.
Total enrollment: 74,916
Number of facilities
elementary schools: 57
junior high schools: 13
high schools: 6
alternative: 12
Student/teacher ratio: 17:1
Teacher salaries
Minimum: $31,641
Maximum: $62,065
Funding per pupil: $4,787
Public Schools Information: Mesa Public Schools, 63 E. Main Street, #101, Mesa, AZ 85201-7422; telephone (480)472-0000
Arizona State University (East Campus) in Mesa functions as a polytechnic institute, or vocational college, offering its nearly 4,000 students degrees in 29 educational concentrations including business, agribusiness, engineering technology, professional pilot training, health and wellness, and education. Baccalaureate, masters and doctoral degrees are all available through the Mesa campus. In June 1999, the university received accreditation by the Professional Golfers Association and is one of the first state universities west of the Mississippi to offer both a Professional Golf Management program and a Golf and Facilities Management major.
Masters and doctoral degrees are available through the Arizona School of Health Sciences, which offers programs such as medical informatics, advanced physician assistant studies, sports medicine, occupational therapy, and audiology. Fieldwork experiences occur in a variety of urban and rural placements, allowing for practical application of academic concepts.
The largest of the 10 Maricopa Community Colleges, Mesa Community College (MCC) offers its student body of 27,000 the only biotechnology studies program in the state of Arizona. Well-respected Fire Science and Nursing academic programs are underscored by a service learning program that has become a blueprint for community colleges across the country. Courses within a variety of disciplines send their students out into the local community to do meaningful volunteer work that employs the theoretical concepts learned in class. Additionally, MCC provides AmeriCorps service scholarships to students who are performing volunteer work or completing unpaid internships.
East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) is billed as Arizona's first regional technological education district, serving high school students from 10 East Valley school districts (including Mesa Public Schools). The programs at EVIT are the result of partnerships with local industry and business in an effort to prepare students with the skills needed for future employment. High school students can attend half-days at EVIT and the rest of the school day at their own school. EVIT additionally offers adult education classes under the banner of Evenings at EVIT.
Highly specialized training is available to would-be pilots and transitioning former members of the military at Williams Gateway Airport Educational Campus, which includes tenants such as Advanced Training Systems International, Inc. and Airline Transport Professionals. Keller Graduate School of Management also maintains a Mesa branch with a range of business-related masters degrees. Adult learners can also enroll at the Mesa campus of Ottawa University and the University of Phoenix.
The City of Mesa Library system is comprised of one centrally located main library facility, with two branch libraries covering the southwest and northeast portions of the city. The main library is home to the Mesa Room, an archive of local history items and special collections regarding Mesa. Besides offering general library services, the City of Mesa Library coordinates reading programs for children, book discussion groups, special exhibits and lectures.
The Research Library at the Mesa Southwest Museum contains non-circulating materials dedicated to the natural and cultural history of the Southwest.
The East Library at Mesa's branch of Arizona State University offers access to hundreds of databases and thousands of online journals and periodicals, which can be searched remotely. The library provides a call center for help, along with live tech support. The library features the Naxos Music Library, an online compendium of classical music with a sprinkling of other musical genres.
Arizona State University (ASU) East also houses several high-tech facilities for specialized research, including the Golf Driving Range and PING Swing Analysis Lab, which refine the work of students in Professional Golf and Golf Facilities Management programs. ASU's Agribusiness Center incorporates a Consumer Behavior Research Lab with a Market/Trading Room, along with a testing theater for students in the pre-veterinary medicine program. An altitude chamber and a simulator lab provide the latest facilities for pilot training, while the College of Technology and Applied Sciences benefits from the Microelectronics Teaching Factory, a 15,000 square foot manufacturing facility available to both students and local industry partners. ASU East is in the process of constructing a 34,600 square foot research facility to house Applied Biological Research labs, the Applied Cognitive Sciences Center, the Health Lifestyles Center, and the Plant Made Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturing Facility.
Public Library Information: City of Mesa Main Library, 64 East 1 Street, Mesa AZ 85201; telephone (480) 644-2207