The Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) Governing Board will be acting upon the retirement notice from Superintendent John M. Baracy on May 6. Baracy will be retiring on Friday, Oct. 3.
“The Governing Board has been very pleased with Dr. Baracy’s leadership and would like to have him stay,” said Karen Beckvar, SUSD Governing Board president. “We are confident that the culture of collaboration he helped create will continue and that the leadership team he has assembled will allow us to achieve great things with our next leader.”
Baracy was the first member of his family to attend college, something he says was a major motivating factor throughout his life. During his career, some of Baracy’s most notable achievements include being appointed to the Phoenix Gazette Hall of Fame in 1993, All Arizona Superintendent Award in 1996, University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) Excellence in Educational Leadership Award in 1997, Arizona State University Community Fellow in 1998, Arizona State University College of Education Hall of Fame Award in 1998, and, in 2006, Governor Napolitano appointed him to the Arizona English Language Learners (ELL) Task Force in 2006.
Since joining Scottsdale Unified School District four years ago, many feel that Baracy has been able to return the district to its rightful standing as a pillar in the Arizona education system. “Dr. Baracy set a tone of professionalism that has caused all of us to strive for the highest standard,” said Jeff Thomas, executive director for Human Capital. “He has improved morale among staff, helped build programs for students and created a school district that surrounding districts strive to emulate.”
Jeff Winkler, president of the Scottsdale Parent Council, said, “Dr. Baracy’s tenure has been marked by the ability to unite the community and focus us all on the larger goal: providing an excelling education for every child in our district. His leadership has certainly lifted everyone on his team to a higher level."
Dr. Baracy's letter of retirement said, “I have been a school administrator for 37 years and during those years I have devoted all of my efforts, energy and passion to improving education opportunities and ensuring healthy learning environments for all children. It is now time that I turn my attention to focus on myself and my health. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve our community. It was a dream come true for me.”
For more information about Scottsdale Unified schools, visit www.susd.org.
District names contest winners
Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) has named the winners of the poster contest for the new 2008-09 Start Smart campaign. This year, the posters reflected what students say makes their school district great.
“We decided that this year we would let the students tell why they like to ‘Start Smart’,” said Dr. John M. Baracy, SUSD superintendent. “I was very excited to see all the fantastic artwork, not to mention hearing directly from our students about what they like about SUSD.”  Winners representing south Scottsdale schools in the recent SUSD Start Smart post contest included: Jesse Ramirez, a first grader at Tonalea Elementary, who won second place for the elementary category with his “What makes SUSD Great” entry, and Chalet Prine, an eighth grader at Mohave Middle School, who won third place in the junior high category for her “Discover the undiscovered” poster (photos courtesy of SUSD).
There were three grade levels in the poster contest: elementary school, middle school and high school. Each level had a first place, second place and third place winner as well as two honorable mentions. The honorable mentions came about as a result of the entries, explained the district’s Fine Arts Coordinator, Janet Blum. “We had so many fantastic entries that we decided to add two honorable mentions for each grade level,” she said. “These students did an amazing job.”
Representing south Scottsdale, winners included: Jesse Ramirez of Tonalea Elementary, who received second place; Chalet Prine of Mohave Middle School, who received third place; and Gabrielle Forman of Cocopah Middle School, who was given an honorable mention.
Nominate your crossing guard
Do you know a crossing guard who demonstrates outstanding dedication, friendliness, professionalism and safety? Nominate him or her today!
The AAA Arizona and the Maricopa Association of Governments are currently seeking candidates for the 2nd Annual Crossing Guard of the Year Award. Nominations can be submitted by colleagues, parents, school administrators and students. Self-nominations also are encouraged.
Applications are due no later than May 31. For more information and the nomination form, visit the Scottsdale Unified School District Education Center, 3811 N. 44th St., Phoenix, or download the form from www.aaaaz.com/news/crossingguardoftheyear.htm. Complete the form and mail it to: Public Affairs, AAA Arizona, 3144 N. 7th Ave., Phoenix, Ariz., 85013.
For more information, e-mail teiden@arizona.aaa.com.
Schools celebrate Earth Day in style
In honor of Earth Day on April 22, several Scottsdale Unified School District schools implemented special projects and events.
Coronado High School's Library Club planted a jacaranda tree in front of the library on Earth Day in honor of Suzie Drollinger, a library assistant with more than 20 years in the district.
Additionally, science students at Coronado signed a pledge from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. The pledge lists different things that can be done to recycle, conserve energy and save water to protect Arizona's natural resources.
Pima Elementary School's second graders performed “Glow,” a play about every creature’s special place.
Over at Yavapai Elementary, students decorated 500 paper bags for a store to use on Earth Day. Scottsdale Leadership also planted trees in the fields adjacent to Yavapai with second grade students on April 11.
Two groups support elementary readers
McDonald’s supervisor Jennifer Setterberg presented Yavapai Elementary School with a $1,000 check as winner of the McDonald’s Readers Are Leaders® Award. The grant money will be used to enrich the school library’s book collections.
In addition, the American Association of University Women donated new books for every kindergarten through 4th grade student at Pima Elementary School.
Playground is now more interactive
Tonalea Elementary recently was the recipient of a new piece of playground equipment due to the efforts of Dr. David Peterson and Greg Skelton from Scottsdale Unified School District.
Systems, Inc. awarded the NEOS™ grant to SUSD and Tonalea was selected to receive it to upgrade its playground and provide students with a new piece of interactive playground technology, which was installed on April 25. The first users were the students enrolled in the city of Scottsdale After School Program.
The NEOS equipment fosters high movement, competition, sound, and lots of fun. The equipment is described as: “Kinetic! Explosive! Interactive!” NEOS is an electronic game for the heart and lungs—not just the thumbs. It’s a giant video-looking game with all the bells and point possibilities of a hand held but this game gets kids hearts pumping and pounding.
Scoreboard pays tribute to Coppinger
Members of Coronado High School’s baseball team—coaches and players from past and present—turned out May 19 to pay tribute to former coach and local legend Roy Coppinger.
Coppinger was the baseball head coach from 1961 until 1989. During his tenure, Coppinger led the baseball team to 10 state championship games that resulted in four state titles.
The Scottsdale Unified School District’s Governing Board voted to approve the naming of Coronado High School’s newest facility as the Roy Coppinger Baseball Complex.
Coronado’s alumni group held fundraising events to purchase a new scoreboard that displays Coppinger’s name and the years the team played in championship games. The baseball complex and new scoreboard were dedicated on May 19, with many of Coppinger’s family members in attendance.
Helminski nominated for national program
Michael Helminski, principal at Kiva Elementary School, has been nominated for the National Distinguished Principals (NDP) Program. The NDP Program was established in 1984 as an annual event to honor exemplary elementary and middle school principals who set the pace, character and quality of the education children receive during their early school years.
One principal is chosen annually from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Public school principals are nominated by peers in their home states, and the final selection for each state’s NDP is made by the National Association of Elementary School Principals state affiliate.
The awards ceremonies take place in Washington, D.C., each fall. They include special tours and activities as well as professional interaction among the honorees. The two-day celebration culminates in a formal awards banquet.
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