SMUSD Shout Out!
July 2022
A Note From Our Superintendents
Dear Saddle Mountain Unified School District Families,
I hope you and your family are enjoying the summer break and staying cool. The 2021-22 school year and summer school flew by and we are now focused on opening the next school year.
We are busy working on bus routing with the new start/end time for TVHS, which will now be 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM (11:15 AM early releases). While change is difficult and we know teenagers typically don’t like getting up early, this will help students miss less class time for athletic events and was necessary due to transportation limitations. The K-5 schools will all stay on the 7 AM to 3 PM schedule, and the middle school will stay on the 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM tier (12:15 PM early releases). We still have a shortage of bus drivers, guest teachers, and food services staff. If you have interest, please apply online (https://www.smusd90.org/Human_Resources). For bus drivers, we offer signing incentives, paid training, and a starting wage of $19.25 for CDL drivers.
Construction at Desert Sunset Elementary School is in the final stages, with the project on schedule and on budget, even with supply chain and labor shortages! Check out photos of the school on our website: https://www.smusd90.org/Bonds.
This is my final newsletter note to you as your superintendent. It has been a great six years serving SMUSD and I look forward to supporting Dr. Winters for many more years of success for the District. During my tenure, we accomplished many great things. The District doubled in size, going from 1,500 students to 3,000. Prior to the pandemic, we raised student achievement each year. When state letter grades were being issued, we ranked among the top Title I (high poverty) schools in the state, with all of our schools achieving B’s (and very high B’s at that, being just points short of A’s). We achieved and sustained a 99% high school graduation rate (the AZ average is 79%). We’ve sent teams of students to national and world competitions in CTE programs, Robotics, and Odyssey of the Mind. We expanded program offerings to include new Career and Technical Education programs and Mandarin Chinese. We have received numerous awards and rankings for school quality. We achieved and sustained a 90% teacher retention rate. We sustained leadership in technology integration, with a Chromebook device for every student. We reopened Winters’ Well ES and then made substantial campus additions and improvements there. We added instructional space at Tonopah Valley HS and expanded the cafeteria. We modernized and expanded our bus fleet. And we are about to open a new, 80,000 square foot elementary school (Desert Sunset). We will soon be making roadway improvements to add turn lanes along Buckeye Road in front of Winters’ Well ES.
I’m very proud of the great things we’ve done together and I appreciate the great support this community has given SMUSD. This would not have been possible without great community support, great leadership and support from the Governing Board, great staff, and great students. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to lead SMUSD the past six years and I will miss you all.
Thank you for choosing Saddle Mountain Unified School District!
Sincerely,
Dr. Paul Tighe
Superintendent
Hello SMUSD Family!
The 2022-2023 school year is just around the corner. I would like to introduce myself to the community. I am Mike Winters, new superintendent of Saddle Mountain Unified School District. My official start date is July 1. I am excited to get started and to get the new school year off to a great start. I have felt incredibly welcomed by every staff and community member I've met thus far. I want to thank Dr. Tighe for helping make this transition for me and the District as seamless as possible. He has spent many hours with me to inform me of all things SMUSD and to make sure I know everything I need to know to be successful and most importantly, to make sure the District continues to be successful. I also want to thank the Governing Board for trusting me with this opportunity. I'm looking forward to working with the Board to continue to move the District forward and to ensure its continued success. I'm anxious to get started and to meet and work with all of you to help make Saddle Mountain Unified the top school district in the state of Arizona.
Incoming SMUSD Superintendent
Mike Winters
Summer Recreation!
Summer Open Gym
When: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Where: Ruth Fisher Gym
Who: 4th - 12th graders ONLY!!
Cost: $10 per person for the entire summer. (Pay a one-time fee)
Pool Opens on June 15th
When: Wednesdays and Fridays from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Where: Ruth Fisher Pool
Who: Everyone Welcome!
Cost: Adults (18 and Older) - $3
Students (6-17) - $2
Children (5 and under) - FREE
Flyer attached at end of this newsletter.
New Bus Schedules Announced
After many hours of work by many, we have determined the most viable bus routing options for the 2022-23 school year. One key issue was separating the RFMS and TVHS start/end times as they will be the largest schools and both cover all 550 square miles of the District. The resulting model keeps all K-5's on a 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM tier (11:15 AM early releases), keeps RFMS at 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM (12:15 PM early releases), and moves TVHS to a 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM tier. Here are some other elements:
- TES becomes a 'walking' school except for students from Sun Valley and SPED students who will be transported
- DSES will be a 'walking' school except for SPED and Pre-School students who will be transported
- The specific routes are in draft form and will be undergoing a route optimization analysis by Lynx staff before finalization
- Drivers are doing mock runs to help confirm projected pick-up and drop-off times at stops
- There is an activity bus planned to continue from RFMS/TVHS to TES/DSES, likely with a departure around 5:30 PM
- Pre-School and SPED routes are also still in draft form and are subject to change as new students are added with summer enrollments
These times will be added to the 2022-23 School Calendar and I will work with principals on communicating this information to staff and families.
Mobile Food Pantry Continues
Be a Part of the Saddle Mountain USD Family!
What We Believe
Mission
Educate all students to become responsible, college-and-career-ready community members.
Vision
Everyone learns, every day.
VALUES
SMUSD has a commitment to…
· Accountability
· Being trustworthy
· Caring
· Taking initiative
· Being respectful
· Believing all children are capable of success. No exceptions.
Get in touch!
Website: www.smusd90.org
Location: Saddle Mountain Unified School, West Indian School Road, Tonopah, AZ, USA
Phone: (623) 474-5115
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Saddle-Mountain-Unified-School-District-90-1315568738609878/
Twitter: @SaddleMtUSDSupt