Afterschool Involvement, Extracurricular Programs Help Mountain View Elementary Earn A+ Grade from AEF

RIO RICO - June 26, 2009 - It is not hard to find where Mountain View Elementary School students hang out after school. That answer is simple - many of them don't go anywhere! Instead they opt to stay right on the school's picturesque campus.

It turns out there's a lot going on once the school day's done at Mountain View! Nearly 300 students - roughly 60-percent of the school's student body - participate in afterschool programs on the Rio Rico campus, which recently was recognized by the Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF) as one of 17 Arizona A+ Schools for 2009.

Who can blame the kids? Why go home when they can participate in more than a dozen extracurricular options as well as academic tutoring and English Language Development. The school's extracurricular programs certainly caught the eye of the AEF's A+ certification judges.

"The culture of Mountain View Elementary School is warm and inviting," wrote the judges. "The students show an eagerness to learn, and there are several impressive programs such as the Morning Mileage Club, Cartoon Club, Chess, Choir, National Elementary Honor Society and many others."

The English Language Development Program is a particular source of pride for the Mountain View staff, led by Principal Stephen Schadler. According to the school's A+ certification application, the program has emerged as a model for the entire state. At Mountain View the program is especially vital, as the Southern Arizona campus' student body is more than 90-percent Hispanic, and is comprised of students living between 10 and 40 miles from the US-Mexico border.

Not content to merely impact its students, Mountain View Elementary School has also committed itself to educating the entire community about healthy living, including drug awareness and the benefits of good nutrition and exercise. To make this happen, the school has developed partnerships with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and its College of Health.

In efforts to ensure the entire community stays fit, it has also partnered with local high school athletes to coordinate one-mile "fun runs", a community 5K run-and-walk and a Character Counts track meet.

Mountain View Elementary will maintain its A+ designation for three years.

According to the AEF website, azedfoundation.org, the A+ program celebrates education and brings to light the positive stories and successes happening in public schools every day. Created in 1983, the program's stated purpose is threefold:

• To identify and publicly recognize outstanding public schools in Arizona ;
• To make available a comprehensive framework of key criteria for school effectiveness that can serve as a basis for participatory self-assessment and planning in schools;
• To facilitate communication and sharing of best practices within and among schools based on common criteria related to success.

In order to be recognized as an A+ school, each school must submit an application providing demographic information, a description of current programs and practices, documentation of parent and community involvement, a profile of the school principal and his/her vision of the commitment to excellence, equity, service; and sustained high achievement or significant improvement in assessment. The winning schools are recognized for their superior ability to meet the needs of their student populations.

The AEF A+ School Recognition Program is sponsored by APS, The Arizona Republic, Desert Schools Federal Credit Union, Safeway and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. To learn more about the AEF A+ School Recognition Program, please visit, http://www.azedfoundation.org/school-recogition-program.php.