Francis Owen Holaway Elementary School in the Amphitheater School District won a gold award in an improvement initiative for schools with low-income and minority-intensive populations to overcome obstacles.
Beat the Odds is a multi-year school improvement program based on establishing a clear bottom line, conducting ongoing assessments, strong and steady principals, collaborative solutions, sticking with the program and customizing instruction and intervention. It is an initiative of the Center for the Future of Arizona, an organization that advocates for equity in education.
Student performance at Holaway went from a βDβ grade in 2012 to a βBβ in 2013.
Six other Arizona schools won gold awards in the Beat the Odds initiative. Holaway, which is led by Principal Chris Gutierrez, was the only Tucson school to be chosen.
Basis North teams head to MathCounts
A team of students from Basis Tucson North is preparing to test its skills in the state MathCounts competition next month.
The team of Tom George, Michael Zhang, Joseph Wang, Emmanuel Zerefa, Aravind Ramaswami, Dakota Koukhamsay, William Allen, Michael Wang and Anunth Ramaswami took first place in the Southern Arizona chapter contest Feb. 6.
MathCounts is a national middle-school program that promotes math achievement through a series of βbeeβ style contests.
Estes Elementary gets new leader
Colleen Frederick has been named the new principal of Estes Elementary School.
The Marana Unified School District Governing Board unanimously approved the appointment earlier this month.
Frederick currently serves as the schoolβs associate principal and has been at Estes since 2000. She will step into her new position on July 1.
Foundation seeks top teachers, librarians
The Educational Enrichment Foundation is seeking nominations for outstanding K-3 teachers and librarians in the Tucson Unified School District.
Candidates for the Evelyn Jay Excellence in Education Awards must inspire a lifelong love of reading and books.
First place is a $1,500 cash award plus $600 for classroom reading materials. Two honorable mention awards will also be handed out, worth $750 each plus $600 for classroom reading materials.
The deadline for nominations is April 4. For more information, go to eeftucson.org/evelynjay.html
