Monthly Board Update
The School District of Choice for Scottsdale Families
The Governing Board and the Superintendent participated in our first “retreat” recently to both: (1) get-to-know one another and (2) to triage our top priorities.
After sharing the reasons we chose to serve on the Board, we quickly re-committed to both our fiduciary responsibility and academic expectations. We examined the strengths we each bring to the table, understanding we are indeed one body that, yes, must follow the statutory and best-business practices of a Governing Board, yet we are also highly interested in innovative approaches to serving our students.
In an exercise led by our external facilitator, we unanimously agreed that examining our enrollment trend and academic progress is at the top of our action list. We see Scottsdale as the school district of choice for all of our families. We will be examining actions we can take and barriers we need to overcome.
It was a healthy meeting because we spoke openly about how mistrust interferes with our focus and can be disruptive to routine and mundane operational tasks, yet we also choose to be watchful and supportive of the various district processes that support the efficiencies and effectiveness of Scottsdale. We brainstormed some of the ways to capture the best of SUSD, including:
- Academics, with an emphasis on growth and less focus on fear-driven sanctions
- Perhaps rightsizing our large system
- Incentivizing better attendance
- Conducting listening sessions across the district, while supporting the teacher retention rates we continue to see
We want to respect a faith-based welcome for our students and families from various backgrounds and dig deeper into our organizational culture and climate surveys. This Board also stands ready to examine the barriers to remove so that our shared desire for being Scottsdale’s schools of choice is honest and real for our families. We want to examine trust issues and learn what our parents and community say about choices that seem to be a better fit for them. We are going to develop our skill to problem-identify at a deep level, so we are not making shallow assumptions.
Our belief in the transparency of examining ourselves is truly a sign of health and support that has me personally excited for the work ahead.
Grateful to work with such a devoted team of SUSD stewards.
Dr. Donna W. Lewis
President
SUSD Governing Board
Governing Board Growth and Development
As we enter our fourth month of working together, it is clear that we have a devoted team of caring leaders who value our students’ growth, our staff’s stability, and the efficiencies of our system. We have just issued continuing contracts to staff and are very pleased that we have higher teacher-retention rates than many of our neighboring districts. The feedback we are getting is appreciation for predictability and sustainability.
We are not out of the woods yet, as the budget process continues to be a challenge. We are grateful for the community’s support on bonds and overrides; state and federal funding sources are being explored for potential loss of funds to our schools. Specifically, we are examining our enrollment trends and demographic predictions. This includes the age of our families and affordable housing markets for our future families. We are predicting an enrollment decline each year, based on the data so far, and that will make for important discussions on ways to become increasingly more efficient and more creative in maximizing the reasons our families choose and love our schools.
The Board has a retreat scheduled soon to examine how it wants to work together to determine creative, top priorities for increased student growth, enrollment management, and strategic directions for longer-term planning. We seek your ongoing input and value the many different viewpoints you share. Scottsdale schools are outstanding because of YOU!
Dr. Donna W. Lewis
SUSD Governing Board President
It is exciting to have been newly elected to the SUSD Governing Board. At the start of the new year, three of us joined two other Board members as a single body made up of five members. Together, we lead our shared priorities, supporting all student progress, community engagement, fiduciary stewardship, and staff expertise through policy governance. Having worked with governing boards for over 20 years, it is inspiring to see the unique viewpoint and exemplary set of experiences we each contribute collectively.
As we begin our journey together, we are scheduling our first retreat to learn how to work together as a body and in collaboration with the professional educators who directly serve all of our learners, families, and community. We are devoted to staying focused on our adopted strategic plan, while continuously examining, modifying and rethinking our effectiveness. Our SUSD schools are a point of pride in our neighborhoods. We stand devoted to studying real issues for continuous learning and reimagining creative possibilities for our schools.
Dr. Donna W. Lewis
President
SUSD Governing Board
At its first meeting of the new calendar year, the SUSD Governing Board elected new Board members Dr. Donna Lewis as President and Mike Sharkey as Vice President. Expect to start hearing from Dr. Lewis in this location next month.
In the meantime, 2024 Board President Dr. Libby Hart-Wells shares this parting message with us:
Hello, Scottsdale Unified Community,
Welcome to 2025! Speaking of welcome, the Governing Board reconstituted at the top of the year, welcoming three new Board members to the dais - Dr. Donna Lewis, Dr. Matt Pittinsky and Mr. Mike Sharkey. We owe a debt of gratitude to all SUSD Board members, past and present, who selflessly serve(ed) our students, teachers and staff, not for personal gain but rather for a greater cause and purpose beyond themselves. #BecauseKids
To close out 2024, the Board unanimously approved several hiring policies to bring them into alignment with recent changes in state law. The hardworking Transportation and Finance departments provided an important update and recommendations for navigating the continued challenges in meeting legally required transportation demands. The district's recommendations, which included adding a new vendor for contracted transportation service, were unanimously approved by the Board.
The Assessment and Accountability department reviewed Spring 2024 state academic assessment scores with the Board. Comparing scores across the county, state and nation, our SUSD students demonstrated higher average scores than their peers across the board. Drilling down into the Arizona Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) and ACT scores to compare English Language Arts and Math scores for grades 3-8 and 11 with specific peer districts in the Valley, SUSD ranked first or second in all but 8th grade math (fifth) and 7th grade English Language Arts (third, due to a two-way tie for first). Well done, SUSD students and teachers!
But we are not done. Compelling data was shared, suggesting student learning during the global pandemic was less impacted at SUSD for those students who chose to be in an SUSD classroom. Put differently, students who were able and chose to learn in one of our exemplary SUSD schools with our award-winning teachers throughout the pandemic experienced a return to rigorous academic achievement more quickly than alternative scenarios. This is a testament to the disciplined approach District leadership and the Governing Board at that time, which included the three most recent outgoing Board members, Ms. Julie Cieniawski, Mr. Zach Lindsay, and me, took to use knowledge-based public health mitigation strategies through the height of the global pandemic.
Before you go hug your student or dash off a note of thanks to your student's teacher, I want to wish you many thanks for the honor and privilege of serving this district and for the opportunity to make good progress towards realizing the district's strategic vision of providing every student a world-class, future-focused education.
To a happy and healthy 2025 for you and your loved ones,
Elizabeth Hart-Wells, Ph.D.
Former SUSD Governing Board President
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The awards and recognitions continue to roll in for our esteemed SUSD students and staff. The Board celebrated Saguaro Theatre Director Dr. Tim McCandless who was named the Arizona Thespians' Central Region 2024 Teacher of the Year. We are sincerely grateful to Dr. McCandless for his exemplary work and that he chooses to offer his talents in support of the Sabercat students. The Board also celebrated the district's Native American Education program for earning the Region I National Johnson O’Malley Association Exemplary Program Award. The long-standing district program delivers federally mandated supports to our Native American student body, which is over 450 students strong.
And, as before, this school year is promising to be bling-laden for our fine arts students and student athletes. Be sure to check out the Athletics and Fine Arts sections of the Source for the first of several hard-earned regional and state championships by SUSD students.
In alignment with the district Strategic Plan to optimize resources and strengthen community partnerships, the Board has formalized a new partnership with the City of Scottsdale, approving a lease for underutilized land at the district's former Cholla campus on Via Linda, just west of Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. The lease allows for a temporary fire house to reside in the building previously occupied by NOAH.
You may recall in the spring, the Board formalized into policy recognition of the Scottsdale District Administrators Association. For no reason other than antiquated and oversimplified designations, this group of valuable employees did not fall into other categories of employee classifications. The Board finalized a remedy by unanimously accepting and approving a new employee agreement between the district and the newly minted employee association.
If you have any lingering doubts about the positive impact SUSD students and staff make on our community, then let this be the last of them: SUSD was honored with the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce 38th Annual Sterling Award in the Big Business category. Honors and awards like the Sterlings are possible because of and belong to our remarkable students and dedicated staff. These achievements don't happen in a vacuum. Rather, it takes an equally dedicated community. And that is you. Please accept the Governing Board's grateful thanks for all you do to support the Scottsdale Unified School District. #BecauseKids
Wishing you and your loved ones a peaceful holiday season,
Libby Hart-Wells, Ph.D.
SUSD Governing Board, President