Dear Avondale Elementary School District Families:

It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the 2024-2025 school year. We are ever grateful to our AESD community for their ongoing connections to our schools and district. AESD is proud of our ability to stay true to our mission, to grow every child as a thinker, problem solver and communicator to pursue their future without limits. We continue to deepen our long-standing relationships and history of excellence to continue to be your District of Choice.

We are incredibly proud that Avondale ESD earned an “A” rating from the Arizona Department of Education, and all of our schools were rated as “A” and “B” schools!  In addition, we’ve earned a number of state and national honors:

• Six schools were named as Best Elementary and Best Middle Schools by U.S. News & World Report
• We were named the Best School District in the 2023 Best of the Best Awards
• We were also named Best Place to Work in the West Valley in the 2024 Best of the Desert Awards.  
• Our ACE Preschool was named Best Preschool, and our before and after-care program was named Best Child Care in the West Valley!
• We were awarded the District Award of Excellence for Educator Effectiveness from the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching
• Avondale ESD was awarded a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for the fiscal year ended 2023 from the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO); and a Certificate of Achievement in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association for our annual comprehensive financial report for fiscal year ended June 30, 2022.  This marks the 30th year Avondale ESD has earned these distinctions!

This affirms what we know, AESD is the best place to live, learn and work!

AESD has demonstrated results in achievement. Once again, AESD has outpaced the average growth in the state in student achievement. We have outperformed the state growth over 2 times in ELA and over 12 times in Math on the state assessment. Our students are learning at a faster growth than in other schools/districts across Arizona and we will continue that focus for this year! Every one of our students deserve a limitless future.

Thank you to our families who have made AESD your district of choice. We are thrilled and prepared to serve you and your children as we navigate this new school year and all that it brings. We are excited for our athletics to start in the fall, and have multiple after-school opportunities at our sites! Further, we continue to have our 1-1 technology for use both in school and at home and improvements to safety on our campuses are a direct result of your support. Thank you to our AESD voters for making sure we can make these improvements happen by voting “yes” for our bonds and overrides.

Here are a few of our excellent offerings as we continue to find ways to enhance the experience for our children and adults in Avondale ESD. Entering the new school year, I wanted to highlight some of our incredible opportunities. We have something for everyone including the following:

• High school Algebra and Spanish, Choir and Band with Agua Fria High School District
• Art, Music, PE and Computer Science programming for all students in grades K-8
• Award-winning before and aftercare programs
• Award-winning Preschool and Head Start on multiple school sites
• State-of-the-art Mobile STEAM Lab
• Read Better Be Better

Safety is a main focus on all of our campuses and Avondale ESD is committed to maintaining the safest facilities possible. Reminder, all visitors on campus must sign in and scan their ID for access to our school facilities through a closed campus procedure. 

The center of our work in AESD is based on our Kids at Hope framework. It focuses on the following tenets and provides the foundation for our students and our approach to educating beyond the classroom.

We believe… all children are capable of success, NO EXCEPTIONS.
We connect… all children to caring adults to reveal and grow the possibilities.
We time travel…we prepare students for their future by time traveling to allow children to see their potential in four destinations and to plan for it today.

Please stay connected by following our district and schools’ social media channels, and as always, send your photos, celebrations and successes to media@chooseAESD.org.

We are here to ensure your child grows as a thinker, problem solver and communicator to pursue their future without limits! We believe every child deserves an Avondale Elementary School District Education.

If I can be of service, please contact me at 623-772-5000.

Sincerely,

Dr. Betsy Hargrove
Superintendent