More than 300 high school students in Sunnyside Unified School District were celebrated at two surprise ceremonies in September, where they were notified of their formal acceptance to the University of Arizona.
Desert View High School counted a total of 146 senior students who were admitted to the UA, while Sunnyside High School had 167.
“This is an important celebration for our seniors and their families, and a key step towards making their higher education dreams a reality,” Superintendent Jose Gastelum said.
“Our vision of ensuring that students are college, career and community ready comes to life on this day, and it is truly one of the best celebrations we have all year,” he said.
The students were recognized individually by SUSD and UA representatives. After the assemblies, students and their families were invited to Next Steps Student & Family Support Workshops.
To view photos of the events, visit Facebook.com/SunnysideUSD.
Teacher excellence award
Tucson Values Teachers presented its September Teacher Excellence Award to Kelsey Esham, a prekindergarten teacher at Vail Inclusive Preschool (VIP) — Mica Mountain.
Esham has taught for 11 years, including the past five at VIP. Aside from being a prekindergarten teacher, Esham also serves as the team lead, the technology assistant teacher and coach for other teachers.
In 2020, she was named teacher of the year for VIP.
“This is what I do for all of my students, day in and day out, to ensure that they are learning and growing to the best person they can be,” Esham said. “I want them to leave my class knowing that they were loved and to have a love of learning so that they can thrive when they get into elementary school.”
She was nominated by Jayme Tornarore, a parent of twins in Esham’s class. The nominating statement said that the two kids have shown a lot of growth within just one quarter of the school year, thanks to Esham’s inspiration.
Arts in education
Ben Collinsworth, a teacher at Emily Meschter Early Learning Center, received the 2022 Tancer Arts in Education Award, which honors teachers who excel at incorporating arts education in the classroom.
The award is given out by Act One, a nonprofit organization focused on making the arts accessible to Arizona children in grades K-12 through field trips and events.
The award was created in memory of philanthropist Robert Tancer, who worked with Act One to expand kids’ educational opportunities.
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