Photos courtesy of Deer Valley Unified School District

The Deer Valley Unified School District (DVUSD) recently honored its exceptional students, teachers, and staff at the Governing Board Meeting held on April 11. The event celebrated achievements across various domains, highlighting the district’s commitment to excellence.

This year’s Diamond Canyon Battle of the Books District Champions were the Blue Boys Among Us team, comprising fifth grader Carter Fleshman and sixth graders Wesley McKean and Philip Stapella. The Deer Valley Education Foundation has funded the reading competition for fifth and sixth graders for the past decade, with 28 district schools participating. Four books are pre-selected for the three competitions during the year, which means students read and answer questions from a total of 12 books outside their regular school work!

The National Merit Scholarship Program named seven DVUSD students as finalists, representing the top 0.5% of the state’s senior students. These academically talented individuals from Sandra Day O’Connor High School and Mountain Ridge High School will now compete for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth $35 million.

Mountain Ridge High School’s Taylor Raney secured a Flinn Foundation Scholarship, valued at over $130,000. The scholarship covers tuition, housing, meals, study abroad, and membership in a university honors college at one of Arizona’s three public state universities.

Tony Galietti, principal of Sierra Verde STEAM Academy, was chosen as GCU’s April STEM Principal of the Month for his outstanding work in STEM, trauma-informed practice, and innovation.

The Arizona Educational Foundation recognized four DVUSD schools as A+ Schools of Excellence: Deer Valley High School, Legend Springs Elementary School, Sierra Verde STEAM Academy, and Sandra Day O’Connor High School. These schools demonstrated their superior ability to identify and meet the academic and non-academic needs of their students.

Congratulations to all the honorees for their achievements in the DVUSD community!