EDUCATION
CHARTER SCHOOLS, RANKED BY ENROLLMENT
Top 10 PRIMAVERA ONLINE HIGH SCHOOL 2471 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler, 85225 // 480-4566678 // Chooseprimavera.com AZ EMPLOYEES 300 ENROLLMENT 17,000 AZ CAMPUSES 1 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Maveonien Creamer, superintendent and chief operating officer GREAT HEARTS ACADEMIES 3102 N. 56th St., Suite 300, Phoenix, 85018 // 602-4387045 // greatheartaz.org AZ EMPLOYEES 750 ENROLLMENT 11,000 AZ CAMPUSES 23 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Christine Jones, interim CEO BASIS EDUCATIONAL GROUP 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite B-100, Scottsdale, 85258 // 480289-2088 // basised.com AZ EMPLOYEES 800 ENROLLMENT 10,000 AZ CAMPUSES 17 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Olga Block, co-founder; Michael Block, co-founder
ALIGNING ROLE AND SOUL
MAVEONIEN CREAMER SUPERINTENDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER BY DAVID M. BROWN
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As chief operating officer and superintendent of Primavera Online High School in Chandler, Maveonien Creamer oversees all departments, including academic, finance, human resources, marketing and curriculum, and participates in legislative initiatives affecting school choice and academic programing for online schools. The AdvancEd-accredited school was founded in 2001 by her brother, Damian Creamer, as a tuition-free Arizona charter school serving grades 6-12. With 16,000-plus students annually, it’s the state’s largest online high school. “Our mission is to provide a rigorous, personalized and quality education in a highly interactive virtual learning environment delivering successful student academic outcomes,” Creamer says. Born in Washington D.C., Creamer moved often as a child. Her dad, a professional ballroom dancer, opened up Fred Astaire and Arthur Murray dance studios across the East and Midwest, finally settling in Spokane, Wash., when Creamer was 10. “All of that moving around taught me to enjoy the journey, to be flexible and to make friends quickly,” she says. At Brigham Young University, Creamer earned a bachelor’s degree in French and English. She also studied at the Sorbonne, in Paris, for a year. Later, in Boise, Idaho, she completed work at Boise State University,
earning a post-baccalaureate in secondary education as well as a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. A master’s degree in administration and leadership from the University of Phoenix followed. Currently, she is finishing a doctorate in industrial and organizational psychology. Creamer is also proud of her role as a mother of two, as well as her commitment to serving her neighbors. “I have been able to return the kindness that so many showed to me and my children in our times of need,” she says. “We adopt families for Thanksgiving and Christmas and give food and gifts anonymously, and I like to take food to the sick and homebound.” Throughout her life, great teachers have inspired Creamer, including high school and college French teachers, and Parker Palmer, author of “The Courage to Teach,” who taught her the importance of inviting silence into the learning experience. “Whether I am in the classroom with students, leading teachers in a professional learning experience or leading an organization and school, I am always a teacher,” she says. “I believe in collaborative leadership, leveraging the skill set of every employee and encouraging them to find their role and soul connection. In turn, my role and soul must be connected in order for me to give the best of myself to those I serve every day.”
LEGACY TRADITIONAL SCHOOL 3201 S. Gilbert Road, Chandler, 85286 // 480-2705438 // legacytraditional.org AZ EMPLOYEES 750 ENROLLMENT 10,000 AZ CAMPUSES 9 PRINCIPAL Bill Gregory, executive director; Aaron Hale, executive director HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Teresa Tate, chief operating officer IMAGINE SCHOOLS 1843 W. 16th Ave., Apache Junction, 85220 // 480-335-0502 // visitimagineschools.com AZ EMPLOYEES 700 ENROLLMENT 8,020 AZ CAMPUSES 21 PRINCIPAL Monte Lange, executive vice president HIGHEST-RANKING WOMEN Sherry Ruttinger, regional director; Heidi Lindsay, regional director SEQUOIA SCHOOLS - EDKEY INC. 1460 S. Horne, Mesa, 85204 // 480-461-3200 // sequoiaschools. org AZ EMPLOYEES 1,000 ENROLLMENT 5,800 AZ CAMPUSES 18 PRINCIPAL Mark Plitzuweit, CEO HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Tamara Becker, assistant superintendent ARIZONA VIRTUAL ACADEMY 99 East Virginia Avenue, Suite 200, Phoenix, 85004 // 602-476-1320 // azva.k12.com AZ EMPLOYEES 217 ENROLLMENT 5,142 AZ CAMPUSES 12 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Kelly Van Sande, head of school EDUPRIZE SCHOOLS 580 W. Melody Ave., Gilbert, 85233 // 480-813-9537 // eduprizeschools. net AZ EMPLOYEES 505 ENROLLMENT 3,890 AZ CAMPUSES 2 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Lynn Robershotte, superintendent ARIZONA CONNECTIONS ACADEMY 335 E. Germann Road, Suite 140, Gilbert, 85297 // 480-782-5842 // connectionsacademy.com AZ EMPLOYEES 65 ENROLLMENT 1,919 AZ CAMPUSES 1 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Kerri Wright, principal HORIZON COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER 16233 S. 48th St., Phoenix, 85048 // 480659-3000 // horizonclc.org AZ EMPLOYEES 150 ENROLLMENT 1,500 AZ CAMPUSES 1 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Betsy Fera, executive director
WHO’S WHO IN BUSINESS // 2016
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