1. Youth Education, 2. MapLIT: Literacy Dashboard, 3. MAG's Commitment to Air Quality, Photo of the Month Economy and Growth, Maps and Data, Public Outreach, Transportation The following are three things you should know about what’s happening in the MAG region: 1. Youth Education School enrollment, academic performance, and high school graduation rates are key indicators of how well youth are prepared for higher education and future opportunities. Year over year, the graduation rate in the region has remained stagnant, averaging 78 percent from 2011 to 2023. This indicates room for improvement, especially as national graduation rates have steadily increased and are about 10 percentage points higher than the region in 2023. Shifts in age distribution are also impacting school enrollment patterns. As the population ages and birth rates decline, the share of high school students rose from 30 percent to 33 percent, while K-8 enrollment dropped from 70 percent to 66 percent between 2015 and 2024. View more youth education data in our Region in Review report at the link below. Youth Education 2. MapLIT: Literacy Dashboard MapLIT is an interactive mapping tool developed by MAG in collaboration with Read On Arizona. It is designed to help communities identify gaps in early literacy services by showcasing important data on school proficiency, census trends, and local health factors. This comprehensive resource allows parents, educators and policymakers to create customized summary reports and visualize data-driven strategies to make informed decisions and enhance outcomes for students in Arizona. Explore MapLIT 3. MAG's Commitment to Air Quality .Over the decades, the region has made tremendous progress in improving air quality. Since 2000, emissions of total air pollutants across Maricopa and Pinal counties have decreased by 50 percent, even as population, economic activity and vehicle traffic have rapidly expanded. Recently, EPA validated a September 2025 modeling demonstration submitted by MAG and found that the region would have met the latest EPA ozone standard, but for the impact of international emissions. This ruling enabled the region to avoid significant restrictions that would have impacted our economic development. Learn More About MAG's Commitment to Air Quality Photo of the Month Even though our days are getting hotter, MAG region residents are still taking advantage of beautiful spring mornings and the region's shared-use trails and bike lanes, such as this area on Third Street in downtown Phoenix. Published April 20, 2026