Vail again has FOUR of the nine finalists for the University of Arizona High School Amazing Teacher of the Year!

A huge congratulations goes out to:

• Justin Villard - Engineering Teacher at Andrada

• Katrina Myers - Math and Financial Literacy Teacher at Cienega

• Kim Scheerer - English and AP Psychology Teacher at Empire

• Danielle Neumann - History, Leadership, and Student Government Teacher at Mica Mountain

Teachers are evaluated on innovative practices, student achievement, extracurricular involvement, leadership, community service, and more! Congratulations to each of our teachers on this well deserved honor. They certainly represent Vail outstandingly well! We look forward to celebrating these teachers at UA basketball games throughout the season and honoring them at the ceremony where the winner will be announced in February! 

This brings Vail’s total number of high school teachers who have been honored by the UA Award to a whopping 53 teachers since 2004!

Vail’s athletic teams have done remarkably well this fall. Below are just a few of the exciting highlights. 

• MMHS Girls Volleyball brought home a 2nd place finish from state! Outstanding!

• CHS and MMHS Football teams BOTH made it to the playoffs and MMHS is still alive and plays in the semifinal game this Friday!

• MMHS Girls Cross Country earned a 4th place finish at state while the Boys Cross Country team earned a 2nd place finish! Congratulations!

• EHS Football produced a fantastic record breaking season!

For many of our students, the rich extracurricular opportunities that are offered across our sites are the primary way that they find meaning and connection to their school. All of these activities, whether fine arts, performing arts, athletics, or clubs require our staff to step forward to make them happen. We are profoundly grateful to all who help make these outstanding programs happen. And, we are grateful for all of the support our student athletes and performers receive from this community. Games, matches, concerts, performances, and more have certainly been well attended by parents, staff, and community fans and supporters. Vail students certainly know they matter to their community!

VUSD intentionally brings in and listens to staff, parents, community, businesses, etc. We also bring in students to listen to them to better understand their perspective and gain their insights to help solve the problems they see. Our Student Advisory Team had their first bi-annual meeting earlier this month. I would like to make sure all of our families are tuned in to what is happening in this incredible group of young people! 

The Student Advisory Team is made up of more than 50 diverse high school students across all of our high schools who meet twice a year to discuss the issues they are seeing and facing at their schools. They determine SMART goals and action items, discuss them with their principals and counselors, and then take action items related to their goals back to their schools.

To see students at the MMHS table conversing with students at the VAHS table about having the same problems and then working to come up with solutions together is certainly an example to us all. The process gives students a voice, ownership, and empowerment to affect positive change across the district.

Earlier this month, we were able to witness and participate in one of the most remarkable events of the year. It was a day when community members including parents, grandparents, students, and children filed onto Vail’s campuses and worked shoulder to shoulder with staff and teachers to serve together. They moved and arranged rocks, painted curbs and murals, built desks and bird houses, and more. 22 projects across 18 school schools were completed. Nearly 800 volunteers clocked more than 2,000 volunteer hours in one Saturday morning! Community pride in their schools was clearly on display!

After the service projects wrapped up, many gathered at Cottonwood Elementary where an ice cream social was sponsored by one of our local churches. Our community could be found relaxing, chatting, laughing, and connecting. It was inspiring to watch our community connections and relationships be fueled by service and common purpose. 

We have several celebrations across the district during the year where we honor our local heroes and first responders. Each of these events offer the opportunity to model gratitude for service as we lift those who choose to live a life of service in their communities. 

One such student-led celebration took place at Cienega this month. More than 40 of our local first responders, active military members, and veterans were honored there in a deeply moving ceremony. Each year, Cienega’s Blue Star Students Club hosts the event the Friday before Veteran’s Day. This club is filled with students who are dependents of active duty military members, veterans, first responders, and former first responders. They organize the band, guest speakers, and more. Each student is given a flag as they walk into the assembly. As our heroes are ushered in, they are welcomed by 1,900+ students waving flags. 

Our students did a fantastic job of modeling and encouraging unity and gratitude in our community! Way to go Cienega students and staff who enable such a moving event!

And, thank you to all of our parents and families who choose to serve the Vail community in these critical roles of ensuring our safety. We are deeply grateful for your service.

Each year, we have the opportunity to open doors of opportunity to our students. We can direct a portion of our Arizona taxes to specific students, the clubs or activities in which they participate, or a school’s general needs fund.

Visit vailtaxcredits.org to learn more and to select a school and shop for the activity you’d like to fund. Thank you for participating in Vail's motto - Where Education Is a Community Effort!

We conducted a test of our emergency contact systems on August 15th. If you did not receive a text during that emergency test, please start by texting START to 98900 to opt in. You can also verify that your phone number is correct by calling the school office. If you did not receive an email, please call the school office to ensure your email address is correct in PowerSchool.

Further, if you have not completed your Returning Student Registration, please do so now. To complete this registration, go to the PowerSchool Parent Portal, select the student you wish to register (each student needs one done each year), select returning annual registration 24-25, and fill out. 

Be sure to check out VAIL EVENTS to learn about how you can grab the best pies around for your Thanksgiving from Mica Mountain Culinary, and more across Vail including District and Community Events.