Cherryl Paul, Superintendent, Sacaton Elementary School District, Sacaton, Ariz.

Arizona: Leaders Matter

Nominated By: Mark Joraansted, Executive Director, Arizona School Administrators

Cherryl Paul, Superintendent, Sacaton Elementary School District, Sacaton, Ariz.

http://www.sacatonschools.org/Default.aspx

With the leadership of Superintendent Cherryl Paul (http://www.sacatonschools.org/Administration.aspx), Sacaton Middle School in Sacaton, Ariz. has been named the Arizona state winner in the Samsung Solve for the Tomorrow Contest for its proposed plan to address a severe rodent infestation by creating a non-lethal rodent control trap.

The Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest encourages teachers and students to solve real-world issues in their community using classroom skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). This year, classrooms identified issues that are unique to their communities – such as contaminated water, emergency relief in the face of natural disasters, and access to proper food and resources – as well as critical societal issues that are impacting classrooms nationwide, such as the topics of mental health, school shootings, vaping, bullying, homelessness and veteran care.

Sacaton Middle School is among the nation’s 50 state winners (representing all 50 states) and will receive $20,000* in technology for its achievement. The school also received a Samsung video kit to create and submit a three-minute video showcasing their project development and how it addresses the issue in hopes of advancing to the next phase of the contest and win additional prizes and educational opportunities.

“The scale and importance of the issues addressed in this year’s contest reflect how students are taking responsibility for their roles as change agents for the future,” said Ann Woo, senior director of corporate citizenship, Samsung Electronics America. “These state winners and trailblazing teachers and students are taking action to create tangible solutions and promote positive change. Samsung is proud to support their vision for a brighter future and looks forward to seeing how they will use imagination and creativity with complex technologies such as VR and 3D printing to bring these projects to life.” 

Exemplars of Leadership:

• National award-winning school program.
• Commitment to STEM.

To learn more about the superintendents profiled in AASA’s Leaders Matter campaign, visit aasacentral.org/leadersmatter. To join the conversation via Twitter, please access #LeadersMatter.