5 minute read
Education
Get out your pencil and paper and take note of some of the latest news items from Peoria Unified School District (PUSD).
PEORIA STUDENTS SHINE AT DISTRICT SPELLING BEE
PUSD recently held their annual District Spelling Bee where top spellers from across the district competed in front of their peers. The winner of this year’s Annual District Spelling Bee is Ethan Greenwood from Coyote Hills Elementary School. Greenwood won in the 12th round with the word “quinary.”
The seven runners-up include:
• Archer Hill from Apache Elementary School • Jackson McLean from Lake Pleasant Elementary School • Brian Fielder from Sun Valley Elementary School • Aidan Clark from Desert Harbor Elementary School • Vinh Le from Parkridge Elementary School • Gerald Sanchez from Oakwood Elementary School • Julia Bergner from Heritage Elementary School
To see a replay of the spelling bee, community members can watch it on the district’s official YouTube channel (go to YouTube and search “PUSDOfficialChannel”).
CTE STUDENTS COMPETE IN PEORIA UNIFIED BUILDING DESIGN CHALLENGE
On Thursday, Feb. 10, students from the construction programs at Raymond S. Kellis High School, Peoria High School and Centennial High School competed against one another in a building design challenge. This year, the Regional Skills Competition was cancelled so Peoria Unified CTE Department re-created its own challenge for students from multiple high schools. While the competition was close, Centennial High School won the “Best Peoria Unified CTE Construction Program 2022” award.
In addition to construction, examples of other CTE programs offered in Peoria Unified include accounting, finance, hospitality, fire science, nursing, culinary, and more. For more information about any of the district’s CTE programs, visit the district’s website at peoriunified.org/cte or call 623-486-6000.
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Education DVUSD’s Elementary #32 has a New Name, Mascot and School Colors
The Deer Valley Unified School District (DVUSD) Governing Board has approved the name “Inspiration Mountain School” with the mascot of a Knight and colors of Royal Blue and Black for the Elementary #32 school currently under construction at 5757 Inspiration Mountain Parkway near 57th Avenue and Happy Valley Road.
This recommendation comes following an initial survey that was open to the DVUSD community from December 15, 2021 to January 5, 2022 to collect ideas for its name, mascot, and colors. All suggestions from this survey were carefully reviewed during a school naming community meeting, which was attended by future Inspiration Mountain School students, families, community members, and potential staff members. The group gave input on the suggestions and narrowed the list of ideas.
The community then had the opportunity to select their favorite options in a final voting survey. DVUSD received more than 800 votes from future students, families, staff, and community members. The DVUSD Governing Board approved the name, mascot, and colors at a recent meeting.
Dr. JoAnn Schwarting was named as the principal for Inspiration Mountain School. After serving four years in the United States Navy, Dr. Schwarting earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Arizona State University (ASU), a Master of Arts in Educational Administration and Supervision from Northern Arizona University, and a Doctorate in Education Leadership and Innovation from ASU. The current DVUSD Principal of the Year, Dr. Schwarting has served the Deer Valley Unified School District since 2005. She taught seventh grade English language arts at Desert Mountain School for seven years. She then transferred to Desert Sky Middle School where she assumed the roles of instructional coach and assistant principal. Most recently, Dr. Schwarting spent the last six years leading Desert Mountain School as principal.
Though it is bittersweet leaving her current school, Dr. Schwarting is up for the challenge and eager for the opportunity. “I am absolutely thrilled to be given the honor of serving this beautiful community. My goal is to nurture a school environment that is caring and connected,” she says. “I believe partnerships are necessary when educating our students, so I’m looking forward to developing strong family and community ties.” Late last year, the DVUSD Governing Board approved school boundaries for the new school. Several boundary options were developed after two community input meetings and three Governing Board meetings. View the approved boundary maps and see additional information at dvusd.org/boundary32.
The new school opens in August 2022 and will initially serve K-6 students with the infrastructure in place for future expansion to a K-8 campus. Learn more about the new school, and sign up for future updates via e-mail, at dvusd.org/InspirationMountain.
Making a House a Home: Local High School Students Give Back
Students from West-MEC’s General Construction Technology program in Deer Valley are helping to renovate a veteran’s widow’s home in Glendale as part of their work-based learning and community service. LaGean Levar is the wife of Thomas Phillip Levar, a Navy veteran who passed away nearly a year ago. Levar’s house was in disrepair and needed immediate attention. The city of Glendale contacted Glendale police officer Sgt. Jeff Turney due to his previous service to veterans to brainstorm ways to help. “The house was going to be condemned due to its condition and I contacted Angels on Patrol and Operation Enduring Gratitude. They stepped in to help Ms. Levar and renovate the house,” Sgt. Turney says.
Operation Enduring Gratitude, a nonprofit started by West-MEC’s General Construction Technology instructor and veteran Charlie Ellis, serves veterans and families in need. The nonprofit undertook renovations to make Levar’s house a home again. To help, students from West-MEC’s construction class went to the site and put the skills they learned in their program to good use. They filled in cracks, replaced windows, performed repairs on cracked masonry joints, and more. Avanti Windows and AZ Masonry Council guided students in the process.
Ximena Navarro, a student of the program, says, “It feels great to use the skills that I’ve learned in class while also giving back to the community.”
“The class is here to make a tangible difference while seeing real-life application of techniques learned in the lab,” Ellis says. “They will be coming back a few more times to help in the restoration process.”
“I’d like to thank the students, Operation Enduring Gratitude, and others who have helped in the restoration process,” Levar says.
The full restoration is anticipated to be completed this spring.
