District Leadership

Dr. Betsy Hargrove, Superintendent

Dr. Betsy Hargrove has been the Superintendent of the Avondale Elementary School District (AESD) since 2012. She provides ongoing leadership and works to engage in continuous improvement by implementing and monitoring the achievement of district goals and mission for every student to grow as a thinker, problem solver and communicator to pursue a future without limits.

Ensuring this mission is reached, Dr. Hargrove and her team actively seek opportunities to build relationships with community stakeholders, business people and civic leaders to make connections within the district and sites. Continuous improvement is the central focus of Avondale ESD. High yield instructional practices in a collaborative and collective learning environment have resulted in Avondale ESD outperforming the state for growth in achievement 6 years in a row.

Dr. Hargrove has participated in the national STEM EcoSystem Convenings and has presented sessions on coding in the classroom at conferences nationally. She is on multiple NSF grant advisory teams as well as serves on the National Center for Educational Research and Technology Advisory Board, Carnegie's iLEAD Steering Committee and participated on the AZ Tech Task Force and AZ STEM Ecosystem team. Most recently, Dr. Hargrove was named one of Arizona's 48 Most Intriguing Women and the School Connect Changemaker.

Beyond the shared professional and academic accomplishments of the entire Avondale ESD community, Dr. Hargrove is most proud of her two daughters, Morgan and Clare.

Superintendent’s Welcome