Arizona
Helios aims to accelerate progress in early literacy across Arizona
PHOENIX – March is National Reading Month, and this month KTAR’s community spotlight shines on Helios Education Foundation and its mission to accelerate progress in early literacy across Arizona.
Just 41% of third graders in Arizona are reading at grade level. The rate is even lower for Arizona students from low-income backgrounds (27%) and Latino students (30%). That’s according to the latest Arizona Education Progress Meter, which tracks key areas to improve Arizona’s education system.
“Reading is the foundational skill for all future learning,” Helios President and CEO Paul J. Luna told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News. “Students learn to read by third grade and then, following third grade, they read to learn. That’s why I think it’s foundationally important for our students to be able to really fully embrace the science of reading.”
Luna added “research shows that students who are not proficient readers by the end of 3rd grade are more likely to fall behind in all subject areas. They’re also more likely to drop out of high school and not go on to college.”
Ensuring students can read proficiently by the end of third grade is a focus area for Helios Education Foundation.
Since 2006, Helios has invested nearly $350 million in education initiatives in Arizona and Florida, the two states it serves. Its mission is to improve education outcomes and increase postsecondary education attainment for all students, especially from low-income and underrepresented communities.
Luna noted there’s a statewide goal to get 72% of third graders reading proficiently by the year 2030. Progress toward reaching that goal was halted during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, just 35% of third graders were reading proficiently, compared with 46% right before the pandemic began in 2019.
“We have seen reading scores rebound, but they’re still not where we’d like them to be,” Luna stressed.
That is why Helios has partnered with organizations that are working to improve early literacy outcomes. This includes Read on Arizona, which is the state’s early literacy initiative that’s focused on Arizona children from birth to age 8.
Read on Arizona has identified chronic absenteeism, which is defined as students who miss 10% or more of the school year, as a barrier to reading proficiency. Last May, it formed a taskforce to develop recommendations and resources that’ll help prevent chronic absenteeism and reengage students who’ve missed too many school days.
In September, Helios teamed up with the Phoenix Final Four Local Organizing Committee to launch Read to the Final Four. It’s a reading competition that’s using the excitement surrounding the 2024 Men’s Final Four, which is taking place at State Farm Stadium in April, to inspire Arizona third graders to accelerate their reading skills.
Helios also supports Read Better Be Better, a local nonprofit that’s hoping to inspire a love of literacy and learning through a unique reading intervention program that matches kinder through third graders with middle, high school and college students. The program is now available in more than 100 schools across Maricopa County.
“Together with our partners, we are working to improve early literacy so that all children learn to read and can be successful in school and later in life,” Luna said.
PHOENIX — The number of legal challenges to detentions in Arizona and nationwide has grown to record highs.
Immigration Attorney Hugo Balderas Ibarra said when someone is picked up by ICE, typical bond hearings are “pretty much out the window.”
“These policies that the administration is implementing violate the due process, violate fifth amendment,” Balderas Ibarra said.
This has led attorneys representing detained individuals to file what’s known as a habeas corpus petition.
“A habeas corpus petition is something in federal court that says the federal government is detaining me or confining me somewhere without basis in law,” New Frontier Immigration Law founder Hillary Walsh said.
Walsh said she filed three petitions on Friday alone.
“One of these is for an 18-year-old kid who has no criminal history,” Walsh said. “He came here to seek asylum a few years ago, and went through the whole process legally, asked at the border, did everything right, and now he’s detained.”
Data by TRAC shows the surge in the federal filings alleging illegal detention over the past year.
From 105 nationally in March 2025, to 9,059 the same month this year.
In Arizona, more than 1,100 cases have been filed between October and March, according to TRAC.
“A lot more people who are being detained, but we also have a whole other layer to the process for getting them out if they’re eligible for bond, and so that clogs up the whole federal court system,” Walsh said.
As the Iowa State Cyclones continue to reflect on what was a strong season, one of their top players from last year is in the portal and is the best player available.
After deciding to come back to college a couple of days ago, Milan Momcilovic is now the best player in the portal and has a number of suitors looking to bring him in. Due to the large amount of money that he is expected to get, it would be a complete shock if he came back to Iowa State at this point. However, where he goes could have an impact on the program.
Last season, the junior had a breakout year and emerged as one of the best shooters in the country. While there is still work to be done to translate his game to the next level, he is an impact player in college basketball.
However, where he might go is the big decision everyone is waiting to see. Currently, it appears to be a three-horse race between the Arizona Wildcats, Kentucky Wildcats, and the Louisville Cardinals. Of the three, the Cyclones certainly don’t want to see him go to one of those schools.
Momcilovic Choosing Arizona Would Be a Tough Blow
If the star shooter for the Cyclones were to choose the Wildcats, it would be a tough blow for Iowa State. While the Cyclones had a great season this year, it was Arizona that was a thorn in their side.
The Wildcats were able to beat them both in their regular-season matchup and then again in the Big 12 tournament. The game in the Big 12 was an absolute thriller and went right down to the wire.
While Iowa State might have lost, it was Momcilovic who had a fantastic game in the showdown. Now, as the talented sharpshooter mulls his decision on where to play next year, seeing him go to Arizona would be a tough blow for the Cyclones.
This was a team that beat them twice last year, and taking one of their best players would likely result in the Wildcats being considered a better team heading into next season as well.
While Iowa State did a great job in the transfer portal and has some young talent coming back, losing the best three-point shooter in the country is a big blow. Furthermore, since Kentucky and Louisville aren’t in the Big 12, seeing Momcilovic join one of those squads wouldn’t sting or have an impact on the Cyclones nearly as much.
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