March 2024 SUPER Kids and SUPER Staff

Yesterday, I had the privilege of surprising the March 2024 SUPER Kids and SUPER Staff at Acacia Elementary School, Desert Foothills Junior High School, Ironwood Elementary School and Sunburst Elementary School, as well as additional SUPER Staff from the WESD Administrative Center. Each SUPER Kid received a certificate and an award for a free pizza from Peter Piper Pizza while SUPER Staff earned a certificate and a gift card from either Amazon or Starbucks.

SUPER Kids is a chance to recognize those students that do not always get recognized. Words like supportive, helpful, caring were used to describe these winners. SUPER Staff is a chance to recognize those unsung heroes, the behind-the-scenes staff that make such a difference.

Congratulations to all of the incredible recipients. To view more photos of the March 2024 SUPER Kids and SUPER Staff, please click here.

Join One of Our Regional School Finance Presentations

The WESD Business Services Department will host regional school finance presentations in April and May. The presentations will take place from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the school gymnasium and are open to all.

• April 2nd, 2024 – Cholla Middle School, 3120 W. Cholla St., Phoenix, AZ 85029;
• April 16th, 2024 – Desert Foothills Junior High School, 3333 W. Banff Ln., Phoenix, AZ 85053;
• April 23rd, 2024 – Royal Palm Middle School, 8520 N. 19th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85021;
• April 30th, 2024 – Palo Verde Middle School, 7502 N. 39th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85051; and
• May 13th, 2024 – Mountain Sky Junior High School, 16225 N. 7th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85023.

Each presentation will cover topics related to K-12 funding in Arizona, such as where the funding for school budgets comes from, how budget limits are determined, how the WESD spends these funds, and how factors in the state effect the WESD.

If you are unable to attend one of the meetings in person, they will also be livestreamed on each school’s YouTube channel. Please click here to find the livestream links. For questions, please email Daniel.Obrien@wesdschools.org.

Register Your Future WESD Kindergartner for Jumpstart

Registration for our free, four-week, half-day kindergarten readiness program, Jumpstart, is open now. Available at 27 locations in the WESD, the program will be offered this summer from May 28th to June 20th. During the program, children will make friends, learn kindergarten routines and practice kindergarten readiness skills. Free breakfast and lunch are also included. Children must be registered for kindergarten in a WESD school for the 2024-2025 school year to participate.

We encourage you to share this opportunity with your family, friends and neighbors with soon-to-be kindergarteners. To learn more and register for Jumpstart classes, please click here.

Start a Career with the WESD

The WESD is looking for teachers for the 2024-2025 school year. Our next Teacher Interview Fair is on Saturday, April 13th, from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. at Arroyo School, located at 4535 W. Cholla St. We are currently hiring elementary, middle and special education teachers, as well as speech language pathologists, teachers of visually impaired, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

Our District offers competitive teacher salaries of $53,000-$83,950 (including $3,000 approx. for performance pay), student loan forgiveness, multi-layer teacher support, professional development, school-age child care discounts, a wellness program and EAP, medical, dental and vision benefits, employer-matched contributions to Arizona State Retirement and much more. Additionally, the WESD offers a salary range of $71,000-$93,000 for speech language pathologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

Please share this opportunity with your friends, family and neighbors who are teachers or soon-to-be-teachers. Those interested can preschedule an interview by calling 602-347-2622 or emailing Teach@wesdschools.org.