March 2025

February was a busy month for our office. We had the County Spelling Bee which is always a great experience. The awards ceremony for the Science Expo was held at the Taylor McBride Auditorium at Yuma High. Thank you Michael Fritz, principal at Yuma High School, for attending the ceremony and helping out. Thank you to our Science Fair Coordinator Kimberly Adkins and the countless supportive teachers and parents who help students with their projects.

Congrats to the Gadsden School District for winning the Yuma County Math Counts competition.

Gadsden Elementary School District #32 Surprised with Prestigious NIET District Award of Excellence for Educator Effectiveness and $50,000 Grand Prize

Washington, D.C. (February 28, 2025) - The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) announced today that Gadsden Elementary School District #32, Arizona, won the District Award of Excellence for Educator Effectiveness. The award celebrates Gadsden’s focus on educator excellence and student success and includes a $50,000 prize.

Gadsden was chosen because of its unwavering commitment to investing in educators’ professional growth, fostering teacher leadership, and increasing student success.

“We applaud Superintendent Lizette Esparza and the educators and students in Gadsden Elementary School District #32 for their commitment to excellence in teaching and learning,” said NIET Founder Lowell Milken. “The district’s development and support of talented educators has provided powerful opportunities for success by creating a dynamic pipeline of teachers, school leaders, and district officials who are prepared to sustain positive outcomes for all. We also compliment the district on developing graduates to become teachers – individuals who now serve as role models in the community and help the district to flourish. Congratulations.”

Runner up Adriel Osueni (left) from Southwestern Christian School. First place winner Ishan Nathan from Gowan Science Academy in his third county spelling bee appearance.

This one-day professional development program introduces middle and high school teachers to a series of simulations, role-playing activities, group activities, classroom demonstrations, and informational texts designed to effectively teach students about world history and economics. The session makes use of the Council for Economic Education’s Focus: World History lesson book.

The lessons demonstrated and distributed in this program cover the period from prehistory to 1776. Topics include the economics of the Silk Road, classical Athens’s trade in olive oil, the role of guilds in the Middle Ages, the spice trade, the Columbian Exchange, banking in the Renaissance, and many more. This program emphasizes active- and collaborative-learning teaching methods that help middle and high school teachers meet state and national standards in social studies and economics.

This workshop is being co-sponsored by the Arizona Heritage Center – an Arizona Historical Society Museum.

Location: Arizona Heritage Center 1300 N College Ave, Tempe, AZ 85288

Participants will receive the following:

• A tour of the Arizona Heritage Center museum
• Lunch
• Travel stipends are available. ($20 – Maricopa County, $40 – All other AZ counties)
• Copy of Focus: World History book
• 8 hours of professional development credit.

In partnership with the Go Ag and the Yuma Fresh Vegetable Association, 3rd grade teachers from Yuma Elementary District #1 participated in the annual Southwest Ag Summit. They learned about cutting edge agriculture technology, attended classes, and went on field trips to fields and cotton processing.

These teachers will also be receiving materials and lesson plans for interactive classroom units involving local agriculture, ag careers, and being plant scientists.

If your school or district is interested in participating in this pilot program next year, please reach out!

Saturday February 8 we had a phenomenal training about the Science of Sound and Waves. A team from University of California San Diego showcased an interactive ten lesson unit where really cool tech tools made the concepts come to life.

We'd love to bring Alec and Victor back if we can get enough middle school science teacher interest. If you want to know more, please reach out and we can share resources.

We've had this training in Yuma a couple times now because it is a concise, one-day workshop from the Arizona Department of Education with a focus on making your classroom a place where learning can happen. In February Antelope High School hosted the session. In July the team will be back for two additional days: one for east county k-8 schools and another for District 1 new teachers.

The Well-Managed Classroom is available throughout the year in Phoenix, using the APLD website. But if you have a group of 30 or more interested in participating, Eliana Osborn can help you schedule.

February 15 and 16, a team from the Arizona Center Center provided training in Somerton for teachers interested in running a STEM camp. We did no tech coding learning, practice with little programmable mice, Makey Makey, and Edison Robots. All participating teachers received a stipend and full materials for 18 hours of camp--plus a free family science night from the Center!