District

Dialogue

Bi-weekly news from the Laveen Elementary School District August 29, 2014

The District Dialogue is issued twice monthly.

Laveen seeks input on Strategic Plan

The Laveen Elementary School District has

developed a draft strategic plan and is seeking

public input before finalizing the plan.

The plan may be viewed on the district’s

homepage, www.laveeneld.org. A short survey

follows.

Comments will be accepted through Sep-

tember 3. The final plan will be presented to

the Governing Board for approval at the Sep-

tember 11 meeting.

Laveen launches flickr page

The Laveen Elementary School District has launched

an online photo album on flickr. This will al-

low Laveen to easily share numerous photos

from events around the district.

You can view our photos through the

flickr icon link at the top of our school

webpages or by visiting the direct flickr link, https://

www.flickr.com/photos/laveenesd/.

In addition to flickr, you can also find the Laveen Dis-

trict on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/LaveenESD.

Schools, Administrators recognized

At the August 14 Governing Board Meeting, three schools and four administrators were recognized.

Rogers Ranch School was recognized for outstanding student achievement as demonstrated on Arizona's A-F

Letter Grade Accountability System. Rogers Ranch School received 62 growth points, which is a 37 point in-

crease from 2013. The growth score represents the average academic growth of all students and the bottom

quartile students.

M.C. Cash and Trailside Point schools were recognized for receiving the Arizona Educational Foundation’s

A+ School of Excellence™ designation.

Rogers Ranch Principal Tim Thomas, M.C. Cash Principal Lisa Sandomir, Trailside Point Principal Sarah

Zembruski, and Technology Coordinator Eddie Lopez were also honored with the district’s Pinnacle of Leader-

ship Award. This award recognizes select individuals for exceptional leadership, outstanding accomplishment,

and dedicated service to Laveen’s students and community.

The principals received the award for their school recognitions as mentioned earlier. Lopez received the

award for the number of technology devices that have been integrated into classrooms, specifically almost 1,700

Chromebooks in July.

PAGE 2 August 29, 2014

Nominations needed for Employee of the Month

Nominations are needed for the Employee of the Month Awards.

Each month one certified and one classified employee are selected to receive the district’s Employee of the

Month Award. To be recognized for this award, candidates must meet the following criteria:

Be a strong supporter of the district;

Have the desire to assist in the development of Laveen students;

Demonstrate initiative in their current position;

Be reliable and demonstrate excellent attendance;

Effectively communicate with the community, parents, students, administrators, and staff; and

Demonstrate involvement in the community and professional curricular

activities concerning the district.

To nominate someone for this award please submit a narrative that meets

the above criteria to your principal for approval. Nomination forms can also

be found in the Community Relations section of the district website.

Nominations are due on the 15th of each month and will be con-

sidered for up to six months.

Construction starts at LEC

Phase II of the Laveen Education Center construction is expected to

begin in early September.

Once completed, the second building will house academic services,

business services, technology, and support services staff. It will replace

the buildings that currently house business and technology.

Once this second building is completed, our transportation depart-

ment will temporarily relocate to the old buildings while their new

building is constructed.

This project is funded through proceeds from bond sales as approved

by Laveen voters in 2008.

The project was designed by Orcutt Winslow and will be constructed

by Jokake Construction

Architect renderings show how the Laveen Education Center (top) and Transportation

Building (bottom) will look after construction.

Vista del Sur student wins golf tournament

Vista del Sur student Ahmen Williams,13, took first place in the Western States Golf Asso-

ciation’s 34th Annual Alan Bennett Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament held in Portland, OR ear-

lier this month. He scored a 64 after hitting seven birdies.

Williams started playing when he was just two and a half years old after his father took up

the sport. His first club was a cut-down 3 wood that his father found at Goodwill; it was just

his size. He went on to win his first tournament when he was in kindergarten.

Golf has kept him busy ever since. Williams plays four hours a day, every day. “I love the

competition and I love meeting new people,” Williams said. “You meet so many good people on

the golf course.”