Meet the Arizona K12 Center Team

My favorite event at the center is our National Board Coaching Workshop. Our National Board Workshop is a time for teachers from all around the state to come together to provide evidence of their impact and commitment to student learning and accomplished teaching. I love working at the Arizona K12 Center because we have the privilege and opportunity to support teachers who are doing what they love doing; teaching. The impact of our work is seen across the state as students are learning and succeeding in their context.

I am so honored to be a part of the Arizona K12 Center; an organization purely focused on the success of students and teachers by providing the highest quality information and support possible. Establishing excellent service to our teachers will directly translate to the happiness and development of their students.  I look forward to working alongside our team to create unique, inspiring, and effective event experiences!

Since February 2014, I've worked with the Arizona K12 Center to serve our state's incredible educators. One of my favorite events is the Celebration of Accomplished Teaching where our team puts forth every effort to host and honor Arizona's new and renewed National Board Certified Teachers and Master Teachers. The red carpet event showcases the treatment educators deserve to receive. Even more, the night allows our team to demonstrate what can happen when professionals work together to put their best foot forward. It's an honor to be a part of an organization whose efforts will continue to impact the teachers and students of today who are the leaders of tomorrow.

Since the beginning of my career, the Arizona K12 Center has been that constant supportive element in my growth as an educator. The Center has provided me with a network of Teacher Leaders across the state and a home base for professional development training and resources. From enhancing Cognitive Coaching skills, support toward National Board Certification, to improving leadership skills - I can’t think of a more special and unique organization dedicated to strengthening the teaching profession. I am thrilled to join the team and honored to have the privilege to work alongside such passionate and talented educators throughout Arizona.

The Celebration of Accomplished Teaching is hands-down my favorite event at the Arizona K12 Center. Through this event, we are given the amazing opportunity to show the teaching profession just how much we value their commitment and dedication to Arizona’s children. Although there are so many moving pieces to this event, the AZK12 team pulls together to make the evening a success.

The Arizona K12 Center offers so many great programs to help teachers develop and improve. As a former military and law enforcement officer, I appreciate great leadership. The National Board Certified Teacher Leader Academy and the Teacher Leadership Institute really demonstrate the Arizona K12 Center’s commitment to developing the future teacher leaders of Arizona education. Helping these teachers develop their leadership, mentoring, and coaching skills is so important to the progress of Arizona's teachers and students.

It is incredibly difficult to choose just one Arizona K12 Center event as my favorite. I have attended them all as a participant, and each one offers a unique and meaningful experience. However, there is something magical about the Teacher Leadership Institute. This event provides teams of educators with keynotes, new learning, time to discuss and collaborate, and most importantly, it offers you the opportunity to figure out how to apply this learning back in your own spaces. I am honored to be involved in the development of so many events that have a positive impact on Arizona educators and students.

Arizona K12 Center events have served as a space to learn, reimagine, and engage in the purpose of my chosen life’s work as an educator. If I must select my favorite Arizona K12 Center event, my selection is the National Board New Candidate Kick Off. Personally, I can still recall sitting in a ballroom as an unsure teacher feeling the energy from every single National Board Candidate in the state. It was a feeling of an individual pursuing excellence nested within a collective of excellence. From that point in my career, I sought to replicate that sense of belonging.

I’m proud to work for the Arizona K12 Center because it is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of our teachers and help them be their best for Arizona students. Born and raised in Arizona, education runs in my family, having of my both parents teach as I was growing up instilled the value of public education and making sure we take care of everyone. Great teachers inspire students, and I couldn’t be happier working at an organization that works tirelessly supporting our teachers. I have spent several years teaching students as a Speech & Debate Coach across Arizona as well as teaching Communication classes at San Diego State University and am happy to give back.

My hope is that every teacher can connect to the impact of their leadership and grow their practice in meaningful ways that sustains their work. I am thrilled to be able to grow my own practice by supporting teachers across the continuum of their practice. As a bilingual, special education teacher, I learn each and every day from my students and their families. In the same way, I know I will continue to learn from all teachers that I will have the honor and joy to collaborate with as a Program Director for the Arizona K12 Center. Centering teacher voice and expertise is critical in order to elevate the teaching profession and better serve our students. I look forward to deeply listening to Arizona’s educators in order to co-construct and create pathways of support and growth for us all!

My favorite event at the Center is hands-down Celebration of Accomplished Teaching. I love having every single staff member involved to show educators a night of appreciation and glamour! We put in a lot of hard work at the center, but one of my favorite things we do is offer funding assistance for National Board Candidates. I love being a point-person that gets to interact with these candidates through the entire process. The impact of this work is ultimately supporting educators and therefor supporting their students.

It is nearly impossible to choose a favorite event offered by the Arizona K12 Center as they have all had a profound impact on the educator I am today. The intentionality of Mentor Academy Years 1 and 2 and National Board Certification support through Arizona K12 Center were transformative in helping me realize my leadership potential which had a profound impact on not only my students, but the students of my colleagues as well. Systemic changes in education that move student learning forward will happen when educators recognize and showcase their leadership potential. I am honored to be part of a team deeply committed to providing quality professional learning events which support and elevate the practice of educators and ultimately impact student achievement.

It's hard for me to imagine a more engaging and inspiring gathering of teachers than the Teacher Leader Institute. While attending the 2019 event, I was in awe of the powerful message of the keynote speakers, the dynamic conversations over meals and break times, and the amount of fun everyone had while learning and sharing together. I love how the Arizona K12 Center instills its events and programs with delight and camaraderie. The Center's professional development doesn't just provide continued learning, but empowers teachers to return to their work with joy, enthusiasm, and motivation for change.

I am the Dean of the College of Education at the University of Arizona and the Paul L. Lindsey and Kathy J. Alexander Chair. I am inspired by the Arizona K12 Center's vision for continuous teacher learning and growth. Specifically, the Continuum of Practice framework is a model for supporting teachers through new teacher induction to National Board Certification to Teacher Leader.

The Arizona K12 Center is passionate and dedicated to the success of educators by providing high-quality resources and programs. These programs provide educators the opportunity to hone their practice and fill their toolbox with new and inspiring techniques to use in their classrooms. The platform that the Center provides for collaboration, sharing, and mentoring between educators is invaluable to promote the highest level of learning and care for students throughout AZ.

Educators are hope givers, wish granters and community builders!  I am inspired by the unwavering dedication of the Arizona K12 Center to walk along side of teachers during their personal and professional growth and knowing that when teachers learn, kids learn.

As someone who is passionate about shaping the future of education in Arizona, I am excited to be a part of the Arizona K12 Center. Quality professional development empowers teachers to make a real impact on student success using data, technology, and standards based instruction. The Arizona K12 Center cultivates teacher leadership and the learning, achievement and success of Arizona students.

What inspires me most about the Arizona K12 Center is its focus on teachers and students. Due to the outstanding quality and relevance of the Center’s professional development, Arizona teachers are improving their craft and making an even greater impact in the lives of their students.

Over the last 12 years, I have been fortunate to serve some of the most incredible students and families at Pueblo Del Sol K-8 in the Isaac School District in Phoenix as a 7th and 8th grade math teacher! During this time, I have seen hundreds of my former middle school students go to college, many of whom became the first in their families to do so! I have become a better teacher because of countless individuals who have supported my educational journey, from coaches, colleagues, principals, and professional development I have received throughout my entire career! This support is crucial for us to be better teachers for the kids we serve! The Arizona K12 Center helps support teachers through improving their teaching and learning through engaging professional development! I am a proud supporter of the Arizona K12 Center because every teacher needs support to accomplish goals for their students and careers!

I teach preschool at Emily Meschter Early Learning Center in Flowing Wells Unified School District. The Arizona K12 Center inspires me in its drive to bring together educators of every background and experience level to learn from each other. My own work has been energized by the pre-service, practicing, and veteran teachers I've met through the Center.

The Arizona K12 Center is synonymous with quality teacher professional development which truly promotes the growth of education and educators in Arizona. I am inspired by the focused vision of the Arizona K12 Center as well as how the center consistently strives to meet that vision through quality professional development and experiences while using innovative and effective ideas and strategies to meet educator needs. The work of and quality of work the Arizona K12 Center does is outstanding and inspirational which ultimately serves to raise the level of achievement and growth of Arizona's teachers and students.

The Arizona K12 Center inspires me because they have helped create teacher leaders across Arizona. They have filled the niche in Arizona of offering the best and timeliest professional development in a manner that is affordable to teachers and school districts. The Arizona K12 Center’s focus on ensuring that teachers continue to learn and grow at all points in their career allows for students to be served by great teachers no matter what class they are in or where they attend school. The Arizona K12 Center has fundamentally changed the outlook for teachers across Arizona for the better. Their belief in the power of teaching to improve the lives of Arizona kids is unmatched by any other organization. The Arizona K12 Center has made me a better teacher and leader.

I am a School Psychologist in the Scottsdale Unified School District and get the opportunity to collaborate with amazing educators who not only care about children’s education but also their social emotional needs and overall well-being. I share the commitment and passion of the Arizona K12 Center in creating safe, caring, and effective learning environments by supporting and enhancing teacher instruction and practices. I am inspired by the work of the Center and their commitment to the success of all teachers. I have personally witnessed the impact that the National Board Certified teachers have in their classrooms and the leadership they offer on their school campus. I am excited and honored to serve as a board member of the Arizona K12 Center.

Coming Soon!

Coming Soon!

As the Executive Director of the Arizona Educational Foundation, we see firsthand the impact that the Arizona K12 Center has on educators statewide. From unique training opportunities, to coaching and mentoring, the Center is a vibrant hub for educational excellence.

When your classroom door shuts, it's you and your students, who deserve the very best that is in us. Through your own professional development outside of the classroom, you explore new teaching practices that allow you to connect with other professionals to innovate and lead. The Arizona K12 Center inspires me to encourage my teacher candidates to not only understand this commitment but to take action!

There’s nothing more important we can do as a state in K-12 education than to support Arizona’s educators. I’m inspired by the Arizona K12 Center’s work because they are constantly innovating and creating new ways to support our teachers and school leaders through professional development, mentoring, induction, and more. Their work honors the profession and enables educators to grow and thrive.

The work of the Arizona K12 Center is critical to helping teachers succeed and the professionalization of teachers by creating pathways and opportunities to empower teachers, enhance their learning, and innovate for the 21st century classroom with the ultimate goal of helping all students achieve.

I am absolutely thrilled and honored to have been selected to serve on the Board of Directors for the Arizona K12 Center. The opportunity to contribute to an organization dedicated to advancing student learning through the elevation of the teaching profession is a responsibility that I eagerly embrace. This role not only aligns with my purpose for fostering positive outcomes for students and the adults who serve them, it also provides a platform to collaborate with other leaders who share in my passion for strengthening Arizona’s future.

Making learning fair and equitable for every child is the purpose of K-12 education. To ensure each child gets his or her needs met from day-to-day, teachers are at the center of this charge. Through my experience, I have learned teachers have the greatest impact on increasing student achievement. Therefore, it is inspiring to work alongside other educators at the Arizona K12 Center to deliver meaningful professional learning for all teachers to meet the needs of all students.

I am extremely excited and thankful to serve on the Arizona K12 Center Board of Directors! Serving in this capacity is a honor to support the meaningful and intentional adult learning experiences the Center offers to Arizona educators! The research-based adult learning experiences that the Center provides is essential to increasing student achievement for all students. This opportunity to serve inspires me as a life-long learner, parent, colleague, educator, and leader to imagine and dream how we support and design the learning experiences for all educators.

As a new Board member representing the public charter school sector, I look forward to exploring ways to contribute to the Arizona K12 Center’s ongoing critical collaborative work with schools, districts, colleges, and other entities all across the state. It is only through working together that we can ensure equity, access, and excellence for every Arizona student.