Tempe Elementary School District

Beyond the passionate teachers, dedicated leaders, and unstoppable staff, what makes Tempe Elementary so special are the community partners who come together to support students. This back-to-school season was no different. Our community came together to supply: 👕 2,000 uniform shirts provided by State Farm and the Arizona Cardinals Football Club for students at Connolly 🎒 1,000 backpacks provided by Molina Healthcare for students at Curry and Wood 🎒 480 backpacks provided by local Amazon warehouses for students at Nevitt ⚕️ Immunizations available for Tempe students provided by Southwest Behavioral & Health Services Thank you to these awesome partners for showing their commitment to our students' futures!

We're still reeling from the excitement of welcoming students back for the 2024-2025 school year yesterday! Thank you to our students, staff, and families for making it the first day of what's sure to be a wonderful school year!

Last night, our 22 schools hosted Meet Your Teacher events and one thing was clear - Tempe students are ready for the new school year! A special thank you to our community partners for helping students start the year off prepared with their best foot forward: 👕 2,000 uniform shirts provided by State Farm and the Arizona Cardinals Football Club for students at Connolly 🎒 1,000 backpacks provided by Molina Healthcare for students at Curry and Wood 🎒 480 backpacks provided by Amazon for students at Nevitt ⚕️ Immunizations available for Tempe students provided by Southwest Behavioral & Health Services

We’re rolling out the red carpet to welcome our new staff members to Tempe! After spending time at their school campuses last week, new staff from across the district came together for New Staff Orientation today. The vibe was electric and we are so grateful to be adding such talent, experience, and passion to our community!

Connolly Middle School's mission statement is "Whatever it takes, we are college bound," and their principal is leading by example. 🎓 This past semester, Principal Lucas Pugh - now Dr. Lucas Pugh - completed his doctorate degree in Educational Leadership K-12 Administration from Northern Arizona University. Congratulations on this incredible accomplishment, Dr. Pugh. We are proud of you!

Even when students graduate from Tempe Elementary Schools, the relationships they build with our incredible teachers continue on. Earlier this month, current TD3 district staff members and former Shamley teachers Jessica Monroe and Aubrey Potter were the proud guests of three former Cecil Shamley School students at their 2024 ASU Hispanic Convocation: 🎓 Nikzza Acuna graduating with a Bachelor's in Elementary Multilingual Education 🎓 Yoselin Flor graduating with a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice 🎓 Brittany Perez graduating with a Bachelor's in Family and Human Development To add to the accomplishment, each of these graduates were former English Language Learners, first generation college graduates, and "Lifetime Leopards," having attended Shamley from kindergarten all the way through eighth grade. This is a perfect example of the important role elementary teachers play in students' future success!

A teacher's work extends beyond the time spent in the classroom. Just ask McKemy Academy of International Studies student Eiln Hushagen, who recently nominated her former teacher, Shannon Wilson for AZ Family's Silver Apple Award! Shannon is a beloved fifth-grade teacher at Fuller Elementary School with 30 years of teaching experience, all but one being in Tempe. We are proud to call Shannon one of our own and are grateful for this opportunity to celebrate the tremendous impact she has made in students' lives!

Congratulations to Broadmor Elementary Teacher Kessley Butler for being the recipient of the 2023-2024 Christine Busch Continuing Education Scholarship from Landings Credit Union! Kessley will receive $2,500 to be used for continued education opportunities. Adding an extra element of fun, Landings President/CEO Brian Lee, TD3 Superintendent Dr. James Driscoll, and Broadmor Principal Lisa Malicke were on hand for the surprise announcement! This scholarship honors Christine Busch who spent 33 years of her career in Tempe Elementary as a Teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, Executive Director of Human Resources, Associate Superintendent, and Superintendent for 10 years.

Last week's Teacher Appreciation celebration was made extra special for two Tempe Elementary School District teachers thanks to Concord General Contracting, Inc.! Thanks to Concord, Andrea Perez from Thew Elementary and Tricia Valliere from Aguilar Elementary each received a $500 Amazon gift card to purchase supplies for their classroom. On top of that, they also received $100 Visa gift cards to treat themselves to something special. Thank you for celebrating the hard work and dedication of our teachers!

In celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, we want our Tempe Elementary School District teachers to know how much they are appreciated, even though they may not hear it every day. So, we enlisted the help of four special students to share this very important message. We are so grateful for the dedication, passion, and perseverance of our teachers, and after you watch, you'll see that our students are, too.