Sun Devil educators who are making a difference in Arizona’s schools

Teaching is a profession in flux these days: educators are struggling to find creative ways to address issues such as sagging test scores, under-funded districts, and early-career burnout. Here are seven teachers and administrators, all graduates of ASU, who are using their professional knowledge to improve education in Arizona. We hope you’ll agree that they deserve a passing grade for their efforts.

Raising the bar
Antonio Sanchez ’80 B.A.E., ’95 M.Ed.
Growing up in the inner-city Phoenix housing projects at Third Street and Buckeye Road as a child might be one the greatest gifts Antonio Sanchez could have ever given the 1,500 students in Phoenix’s Wilson District.

“I am so fortunate to work in a district like Wilson because it allows me to give back to a similar neighborhood,” he says of the K-8 district for which he has been superintendent since 2003.

Sanchez’s intimate understanding of the socioeconomic, cultural and personal struggles of his students has allowed the 50-year-old to rid his schools of their under-performing state assessment marks. Despite the fact that Wilson students are highly mobile and very poor, with 98 percent qualifying for the free/reduced federal lunch programs and approximately 25 percent meeting the state definition of “homeless children,” his schools are now labeled performing-plus.

“When others look at students from low-income areas, they may see negative stereotypes,” says Sanchez. “I see so much opportunity and potential for at-risk students.”

As superintendent, he has uncovered much more than potential. Because of his efforts, Wilson now features integrated technology and an ongoing online tutorial partnership with ASU.

Sanchez, an Arizona teacher for 12 years and principal for seven, also has unlocked the potential of the community. Parents, businesses and government agencies have joined the Wilson Coalition to provide training and literacy classes for parents, an onsite Big Brothers Big Sisters program and ongoing support for Wilson programs.

“I am so proud of our staff and their accomplishments,” he says of Wilson’s teachers, who also thrive in the ambitious environment. Two are highly honored Rodel teachers, and one was named Hispanic Teacher of the Year.

“My greatest payday,” he says, “is when a kid comes back to visit, and
proudly tells me what he or she is doing.”

— By Melissa Crytzer Fry, a Phoenix-based freelance writer.

Mining for excellence
Steve Ybarra ’81 B.A.E.
It’s not every day that high schoolers are pitted against college students from one of the world’s leading research institutions in science and technology. But in 2004, students at Phoenix-based Carl Hayden High School faced off with MIT students and other college contenders in the Marine Advanced Technology Education Center’s robotics competition. The result: an unprecedented first-place win.

While Carl Hayden Principal Steve Ybarra, 48, refuses to take credit for his students’ success, it is his steady hand that guides the school in such endeavors and opens the doors of opportunity.

“All I do is try to get teachers what they need to do their jobs,” Ybarra modestly says. “And I do like for our students to go out and compete,” he adds, “whether it’s robotics, writing or computer programming competitions.”

At the root of each contest is Ybarra’s continually reinforced message to students: that with hard work, they can achieve anything. The son of an Arizona miner, Ybarra himself worked in the underground copper mines to pay for college and knows firsthand the value of hard work.

And his students are apparently getting the message. Last year, scores on the AIMS test skyrocketed from 21 to 61. And since Ybarra became principal in 2000, the drop-out rate of what he calls an “ultra-poor area of Phoenix” has plummeted from the high teens to only two percent.

Equally impressive is Ybarra’s dogged determination to track down additional funding opportunities. To do so, he relies on multitasking skills he developed as high school principal in his hometown of Superior, Ariz. Over the next three years, Carl Hayden will receive $2.5 million from the Arthur Blank Family Foundation for program support. Additionally, $660,000 in student scholarships has been raised by the Maecenas Fund, a direct result of national media coverage that Ybarra helped champion.

“It’s because our teachers are putting in the extra work that I’ve been able to pitch for support,” says Ybarra. “And I admit that I’ve also been lucky enough to have guardian angels coming out of the woodwork.”

— By Melissa Crytzer Fry

Certified greatness
Richard Hogen ‘74 B.A., ’79 M.S.
In 1994, Richard Hogen won the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and enjoyed a five-day trip to Washington D.C., a meeting with then-First Lady Hilary Clinton and $10,000 to use in the classroom. Despite such an honor, he’s humble about his accomplishments as an educator.

“It was an honor,” says Hogen, 55. “But when I start comparing myself to others, I think I’m not worthy.”

A seventh grade physical education teacher inspired Hogen to pursue a career in education. He has never doubted his decision. Today, he is a fourth-grade teacher at Rudy G. Bologna Elementary School in Chandler.

He is a passionate advocate for developing as an educator. Outside of the classroom, Hogen is elementary division director for the National Science Teachers Association and a National Board Certified Teacher, which is to educators what a CPA designation is to accountants.

“Only six to 20 are certified in Arizona each year,” he says.

After 23 years, Hogan planned to retire from his current teaching position as of this May. But he isn’t turning his back on the profession; in fact, his career may come full-circle back to where it started, on the Tempe campus.

“ASU asked me to supervise student teachers,” he said.

— By Michael Hammett, a Phoenix-based freelance writer.

Growth factor
Denise Birdwell ’05 Ph.D.
Earlier this year, Denise Birdwell was awarded the Richard D. Miller Award from the American Association of School Administrators for her doctoral thesis focusing on the impact of population growth on student achievement. Her research was based on her own real-world experiences in the field—Birdwell is assistant superintendent for the Dysart School District in the West Valley, the fastest growing district in Arizona.

“This award says you are a serious scholar,” says Birdwell, 44. “It was humbling to be up against (students from) all the big universities, like Stanford and Harvard.”

Birdwell teaches educational law and other courses at ASU and advises other districts on how to grow and succeed at the same time. In June she received the Top Doctoral Student Award by the Arizona School Administrators Association.

She appears to be on a fast track toward a full superintendent’s position. Ironically, in five years she will be eligible for retirement with her district, and the super-achiever, with her newly minted doctoral degree, is already planning ahead.

“I’d love to teach full-time for ASU,” she says.

— By Michael Hammett

Sticking with it
Jim Sullivan ’64 B.A., ’71 M.A.
Jim Sullivan is the kind of guy who finds what he loves and sticks with it. He moved to Yuma in 1964 and can’t imagine living anywhere else; he is celebrating 35 years of marriage to his wife Jeanie; and is now in his 42nd year in the education profession.

In fact, after retiring from his job as director of counseling at Cibola High School in Yuma, he returned to work there as a counselor.

“If you believe in young people,” says Sullivan, “teaching is the greatest satisfaction you can have.”

Sullivan’s accomplishments at Cibola are reflected in the fact that the school, comprised of 75 percent Hispanic students, has a dropout rate of only 2.3 percent. Not only do Cibola students stay in high school, 85 percent of them go on to college. Setting standards is key to getting these kinds of numbers, he asserts.

“You must have a high expectation of kids and they will rise to that level,” says Sullivan.

Sullivan calls himself a “proactive counselor” and sees most of the 200 students he advises on a weekly basis, in the halls, classroom or his office.
The father of two, and grandfather of one, took home the Arizona Counselor of the Year award in both 1998 and 2000 and was inducted into the College of Education’s Hall of Fame in 2003. That honor sparked a new Sun Devil memory.

“I was invited to ride in the Homecoming Parade,” he says. “That was
absolutely wonderful.”

— By Michael Hammett

Involvement matters
Kimberly Allen ’00 M.Ed.
After more than 20 years spent as a teacher and educational administrator, Kim Allen knows the difference that being involved with students on a one-on-one level can make.

“All the problems kids have today, I had when I was in school,” Allen said. “But back then, we had a principal or a teacher who believed in us. That got so many of us through…No child should ever feel that no one cares about their future.”

Allen spent the early part of her career teaching special education in elementary and middle schools. In 1998, she became a prevention specialist in the Alhambra School District, mentoring teachers in the Second Step anti-violence curriculum and other programs. While Allen was there, substance abuse referrals dropped by 50 percent, and disciplinary referrals dropped by 75 percent. The work won her a Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award in 2000, one of the profession’s most prestigious honors, which comes with a $25,000 prize.

After completing her master’s degree in a single year at ASU’s West campus, Allen moved into supervisory work, and in 2003 was selected as principal of Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a charter school founded by the pro tennis star to promote educational excellence in one of Las Vegas’s poorest neighborhoods. Since returning to the Valley last year, Allen has begun mentoring graduate students in the Leadership for Educational Entrepreneurs program at West campus.

In her current job, Allen is director of state intervention for the Arizona Department of Education. Her program mentors troubled administrators and oversees the rehabilitation of schools that have received a “failing” grade from the state for three years in a row. Her work with districts, both rural and urban, where the schools are inadequately funded has made her passionate about funding schools equitably.

“A ZIP code shouldn’t determine the quality of the education a child receives,” she said. “All kids should have the same opportunity.”

— By Liz Massey, managing editor of ASU Magazine.

Coaching the Perfect Score
Larry Strom ’87 M.Ed.
0 – 0 – 1 – 2 – 4 – 7 – 10 – 7 – 19 – 20 – 16 is not a lengthy locker combination at Desert Vista High School in Tempe. Nor does it represent wins per season for former coach-turned-mathematics-teacher Larry Strom. The figures represent the number of Desert Vista students who have achieved perfect 800 math SAT scores over the 11 years of the school’s existence.

“When we had 20 students achieve perfect scores, that really caught people’s attention,” says Strom, 56, who has taught math since Desert Vista’s inception. He admits that his 11-year career coaching boy’s basketball in Iowa contributed to his strategy. “You identify kids early on and give them a challenge – like coaches when they coach sports.”

The first step in Strom’s approach, embraced by guidance counselors and middle school teachers in the district, is to invite students to take honors math in elementary school. “Generally, they’ll say yes,” says Strom. “And 80 percent of the time, they are successful.” It’s not uncommon for students to learn algebra in sixth grade, geometry in seventh and advanced algebra in eighth.

The approach has also eliminated ethnicity gaps in math achievement. While Asian and Caucasian students statewide traditionally average eightieth and ninetieth percentile scores on the AIMS test, ethnic minorities fall short – sometimes by 47 percent. Last year, however, Desert Vista closed the gap, with all ethnicities scoring in the eighties and nineties.

Among Strom’s arsenal of tools are public bulletin boards that showcase students enrolled in calculus and those with the 10 highest scores on the SAT, American Math and State Math tests. This year, all top ten students in all grade levels were female. “We’ve also closed the gender gap,” says Strom proudly.

His is not a teach-to-the-test approach. “If you have the math background, then by the time you take the SATs, you should know it all,” he explains. On the next round of SATs, Strom predicts more than 20 perfect scores – perfect proof that his strategy works.

— By Melissa Crytzer Fry