Tucson Mixer October 2024
What a pleasant, enjoyable mixer in Tucson last night! Thank you to Vanessa and Mimi, Santa Cruz Valley Unified administrators, who greeted our guests. There was networking, good food, beverages and door prizes. Shout out and thank you to the following school districts who joined us: Nogales USD, Santa Cruz Valley USD, Sunnyside USD, and Tucson Unified. We had many sponsors join us, too. AZALAS recommends Desert Diamond Conference Center Tucson to anyone in need of hosting a gathering for their members.
State Affiliate of the Year Award
AZALAS was recognized as the “State Affiliate of the Year” award at the ALAS Summit in Portland, Oregon. The following board and staff members were able to be present to accept the award: Dr. Mario Ventura, Dr. JoEtta Gonzales, Dr. Gabriel Trujillo, Marco Ruiz, Christina Boston, Roxana Rico, David Verdugo, Jose Gastelum, Juan Ceja, Monica Mesa, Gisselle Herrera, Joe Quintana, Arturo Carrizoza and Dr. Marvene Lobato.
The Arizona Hispanic School Administrators Association dba the Arizona Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (AZALAS) is in its 36th year as a non-profit organization. AZALAS has a 15-member Board of Directors with six part-time staff positions. AZALAS has approximately 400 members and 60+ sponsors.
The vision of AZALAS is, “Ensuring excellence and equity in education.” The mission is, “To promote effective leadership that produces the best outcomes for all students.” AZALAS believes in promoting, training, and mentoring professional members.” Part of the work towards those ends includes the development and growth of the AZALAS Aspiring Leaders Training Program. Aspiring leaders have a variety of educational experiences from teaching to site administration, and assistant directors. Cohort participation in these workshops have grown from 25 participants to 182 participants this year. One of the most rewarding aspects of this work is witnessing the growth of the cohort members and seeing them grow into their first or next administrative position.
AZALAS has collaborated with Colorado, New Mexico and Utah to create the Four Corners Latinx Leadership Academy. The purpose of collaboration is to focus on the importance of using an equity lens in leadership decisions.
AZALAS, with their sponsor partners, offer twenty $1,500 scholarships to high school seniors each year. These recipients are then eligible to apply for an additional $1,500 each year for the next three years. Members who are working on a higher degree are eligible to apply for three (3) scholarships annually, two (2) for $5,000, and one (1) for $10,000.
The focus of the annual conference is to provide professional development for all AZALAS members. Member networking is a highlight of the conference. The two-day conference includes 32 presentations, three (3) keynote speakers, five (5) awards and three (3) student performances. The conference committee has 35 members representing 16 school districts from throughout Arizona.
AZALAS membership and sponsors receive communication in a variety of venues such as: monthly newsletter, website, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Newsletters are issued monthly providing communication to our members and sponsors. AZALAS also jointly host four networking mixers for our members, each year, with alternating sponsors.
AZALAS is proud to work alongside school districts to ensure that students have leaders who address challenges that affect equity for all students.
“Day Two” of the ALAS Summit provided great presentations and networking. Our own Board Members and Superintendents Jose Gastelum (Sunnyside Unified) and David Verdugo (Santa Cruz Valley Unified) presented alongside Joe Quintana, our Training Facilitator, on our Aspiring Leaders Program. They represented AZALAS very well. Arizona was well represented at the Summit with the following school districts in attendance: Alhambra, Cartwright, Continental, Isaac, Mesa, Osborne, Pendergast, Phoenix Union, Roosevelt, Santa Cruz Valley, Sunnyside, Tolleson Union, and Tucson.
Shout out to our AZALAS Four Corners Latinx Leadership Academy Cohort #5 Members. It was an awesome experience to observe how engaged our members were with the training. Throughout the weekend, I was impressed with how easily they stepped forward and embraced their colleagues from Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. AZALAS is proud of them and the school districts they represent. I look forward to meeting with them again real soon. Our next stop is Albuquerque. Here are photos of our cohort members and their school districts: Delia - Yuma UHSD Mario - Sunnyside USD Cassandra - Tolleson ESD Allysa - Cartwright SD Martin - Isaac SD Geovanni - Avondale ESD Bhavana - Santa Cruz Valley USD Karla - Tucson USD Theresa - Cartwright SD Sierra - Cartwright SD Ondrea - Douglas USD
August 2024 Member Mixer
Shout out to Andrea Barrera, Administrator of Unique Populations, Social Science, and Civic Engagement, with the Cartwright School District, AND a member of our AZALAS Aspiring Leaders Year Two Phoenix Cohort. Ms. Barrera was in attendance at the Harris Walz Campaign Rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Thank you, Andrea, your presence at a historic event is admirable.
Thank you AZALAS President Dr. Mario Ventura for representing Arizona at the ALAS State Affiliates meeting this week.
Age of Learning brings good luck to the Diamondbacks as they stun the Washington Nationals in the bottom of the ninth inning to win 9-8. Lee Baird (Chicago Cubs), Account Executive, and David Webb (Seattle Mariners), Area Sales Director, hosted AZALAS members to a great game, food and conversation. Thank you Age of Learning for your generosity. AZALAS had members from Cartwright, Mesa, PXU, and Roosevelt.
AZALAS Board Retreat 2024
AZALAS Board of Directors and staff gathered together for their annual retreat. The Helios Education Campus was a welcoming, warm venue. There was great dialogue and discussion regarding the priorities of AZALAS for the upcoming year. The staff was excited to share the growth and interest in our Aspiring Leaders Program and the Four Corners Latinx Leadership Academy. The progress being made by the 2024 Conference Committee was shared by Co-Chairs Christina Boston & Marco Ruiz. The Board and staff thanked Gisselle Herrera for her year as President of AZALAS. Dr. Mario Ventura was welcomed as the incoming President. The following school districts and agencies were represented today: Cartwright, Continental, Isaac, Phoenix Union, Pima County, Sunnyside, Tolleson ESD and Tolleson Union.
Four Corners Latinx Leadership Academy (4CLLA) Cohort
The 2024 Four Corners Latinx Leadership Academy (4CLLA) Cohort Equity Project Presentations and Graduation were held in Salt Lake City on Saturday, June 8th. Congratulations 4CLLA Cohort Members, all presentations were exceptional. There were similar educational equity issues shared among the four states. This allowed for great dialogue and conversation. All cohort members demonstrated exceptional presentation, data collection and leadership skills. Thank you Utah ALAS for the warm welcome & beautiful accommodations. I wish each graduate the best of luck in their next professional chapter.
Arizona Diamondbacks Game
Thank you Washington Covena & Blue Cross Blue Shield for hosting AZALAS members and guests to a Diamondbacks game. Your generosity is appreciated. The accommodations made for an enjoyable evening.
Tucson Mixer Photos
4 Corners Latinx Leadership Academy Photos
Aspiring Leaders Cohort – August 2023
Somerton Culinary Students Preparing Meals for the Aspiring Leaders Training
4 Corners Latinx Leadership Academy Graduation
AZALAS 2022 Annual Conference Photos
Vendor Bags and Early Birds
Sponsor Booths
Student Art Contest Winner
Student Color Guard
Student Mariachi Group
On The Stage
Awards and Recognition
Conference Attendees
4 Corners Latinx Leadership Academy Welcome Dinner Sponsored by Valley Schools Management Group
4 Corners Latinx Leadership Academy – Phoenix